Copyright N°. COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT: = 7 ~ —_. . . i iva eis Ds pert? Y aly) Ay THE ART OF LANDSCAPE- GARDENING s - 4 . ; . ‘ 3 ; a ‘ ' ' ; fll ly ( ¢ bia: HANG EAR? mh bat Xassq ul advn0D s,uoiday Woy MoT A The Art of LANDSCAPE GARDENING By Humphry Repton Esa Including his SKETCHES AND HINTS ON LANDSCAPE GARDENING and THEORY AND PRACTICE OF LAND- SCAPE GARDENING Edited by JOHN NOLEN, A.M. Member of the American Society of Landscape Architects BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY The Riversive Press, Cambrizge MDCCCCVII LIZRARY of pane Two Conles Reselveg NOV'95 1907 Cenvright Friry um 27) (G07 GLASS A Axc., No, 1 80434 COPY 5. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Published November 1907 SB 41! FrR46 COPYRIGHT 1907 BY HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY . ° This is the first volume of a series of classics in Landscape Architecture which has been under- taken at the suggestion and with the coéperation of the American Society of Landscape Architects \ - ew) : ‘eh «€ van = “ j ru : / { ie iY sae yeh: Tie t } y > i | i ity an { i \ , y ‘ \ ¢ 4 4 he x ra AY , ¢ af i i - 4 Table of CoNTENTs iNTRODUCTION XV SKETCHES AND HINTS ON LAND- SCAPE GARDENING I PREFACE, Some General Remarks about Landscape Gardening 3 Cuap..t. Different Characters and Situa- tions 7 crap. Il. Buildings 17 Cuap. III. Proper Situations for a House 23 SuAP. LV. Water 22 Cuap. V. Large Private Places 38 Cuap. VI. Formal Gardening 43 Cuap. VII. Approaches 49 Cuap. VIII. Affinity betwixt Painting and Gardening ee Cuap. IX. Sources of Pleasure in Land- scape Gardening 58 Vili ConrTENTS THE THEORY AND /PRACTIC I On LANDSCAPE GARDENING Prerace. Some General Observations on Taste Cuap. I. Introduction — General Principles — Utility — Scale — Examples of Comparative Proportion — Use of Perspective Cuap. II. Ground apparently altered by the Situation of the Spectator — Re- flections from the Surface of Water explained and applied — Different Effects of Light on Different Objects Cuap. III. Water— Its General Treatment — Art must deceive to imitate Nature—Weater at Wentworth described — A River easier to imitate than a Lake Cuap. IV. Planting — Immediate and Future Effect — Clumps — Groups — Masses — The Browsing-Line de- scribed — Combination of Masses to produce Great Woods — Character and Shape of Ground to be studied — Outline of New Plantations 63 65 84 gi 103 Cuap. V. Cuap. VI. men Ae. VE. Cuap. VIII. Cuap. IX. Cuap. X. Cuap. XI. ContTENTS Woods — Intricacy — Variety — A Belt — On _ thinning Woods — Leaving Groups — Opening a Lawn in Great W oods Fences — The Boundary — The Separation Farm and Park Distinct ‘Oh jects — Beauty and Profit seldom compatible Pleasure-Grounds — Flower- Gardens — Greenhouses and Con- servatories— Various Modes of attaching them to a House Landscape Gardening and Paint- ing — Pictures may imitate Na- ture, but Nature is not to copy Pictures Ancient and Modern Gardening — Change of Style— Art and Nature considered Endless Variety of Situation and Character — First Impressions — Roads — Entrances — Adap- tation of Ornamental Buildings 116 £27 142 148 160 xX Cuap. XII. Gaps XIE: Caar. XIV. NOTES ConTENTS Architecture and Gardening in- separable — Forms and Arrange- ments of Different Eras — Change in Customs alters Uses of Rooms Formation of a new Place — Application of Gardening and Architecture — Characteristic Architecture— How far it should prevail internally Conclusion — Concerning Colour — Difficulty of Comparisons be- twixt Art and Nature 190 208 o19 221 List of PLATES Frontispiece. View from Repton’s Cottage in Es- Piate I. Pirate IT. Prate III. Puiate IV. Piate V. Piate VI. Piate VII. sex (before and after improvements) Illustrating Classic and Gothic Ar- chitecture in contrast with round- headed and pointed trees Thoresby (from a photograph by T. W. Sears) The effect of removing trees in the oblique view of an avenue at Lang- ley Park Thoreshy — The Deer Park (from a photograph by T. W. Sears) Castle Hill, shewing the effect of cattle to mark the extent of a lawn which slopes from the eye Lathom —View from the house, shewing the effect of removing the pond, which is so near the eye that its glare prevents the lawn from being seen beyond it The Thames, from Purley: Morning The Thames, from Purley : Evening 20 + 23 26 38 42 46 88 X11 List or PLATES Pirate VIII. Clumber House ( from a photograph by T. W. Sears) gi: Prare IX. Water at Wentworth, Yorkshire 100 ° PLATE X. Sherwood Forest (from a pbhoto- graph by T. W. Sears) 103} Prare 2 The Browsing-Line 108 Prate XII. View from the house at Shardeloes 118 * Pirate XIII. Map of Bulstrode 120 ~ Pirate XIV. Farm and Park 138/ Pate XV. Flower-Garden, Valley Field 144 v Pirate XVI. Blaize Castle, enlivened by a cottage in the distance 182° Pirate XVII. Plans of houses of various dates 192 Pirate XVIII. Michel Grove, Sussex 196 Pirate XIX. Ashton Court 208 PLATE XX. Map of Baybam 210 Pirate XXI. General View of Bayham 259 Pirate XXII. Plan of Bayham 214 ie, ‘1. #Fic. 2. Fic. 4 Fic. 5 Fic. 6 Pic. 7 Fic. 8. Fic. 9. Fic. 10. Bic. 11. Fic. 12. List of FIGURES Illustrating the shape of the ground at Stanmore Illustrating the shape of the ground at Brandsbury . Sections to shew the manner of adapting houses to different natural shapes of ground . Diagram to shew the use of the human figure as a scale for measuring objects . Diagram . Diagram . View from Wentworth House, before it was improved, and while the improve- ments were going forward View from Wentworth House, shewing the effect intended to be produced by the proposed alterations Diagram Diagram Diagram Diagram 80 82 85 87 88 88 7 Ks . 26. Pg (8 . 28. List or Ficures . Artificial Scenery Natural Scenery . Diagram . Diagram . Diagram . Diagram . Diagram Diagram . Scene in the grounds at Attingham . Stoke Park, Herefordshire . Gothic Cottage Examples of a plan for an extended front on the steep side of a bill Villa at Brentry Hill, shewing specimens of economy with compactness adapted to its situation, character, and uses Ground-plan of Villa at Brentry Hill Diagram Diagram 195 180 181 202 203 204 246 251 Introduction — par REPTON was born at Bury Saint Edmunds, England, May 2, 1752, and died at Harestreet, Essex, March 24, 1818. The period covered by his life is in many respects the most important in the history of landscape gardening. It is true that the reaction from the absurdities and excesses of formal gardening and the awakening to the beauty and value of a natural rural landscape came before his time. Addison and Pope were the most influential of the literary advocates of this great change, and William Kent and his successor “‘ Capability ’’ Brown were the practical men who applied the new ideas to the country-places of England, often indeed ruthlessly destroying formal grounds of great beauty in the zeal of a somewhat unbalanced reaction. But it is to the period of Repton and the work of Rep- ton himself that we must look for the sound and rational development of the so-called land- scape school of England, a school whose influence spread rapidly to the Continent of Europe and whose principles still control the treatment of large areas in the informal or naturalistic style. This change in taste was not confined to gar- dening. It manifested itself in all the artistic Xvi INTRODUCTION expressions of the period. It was due to the move- ment called ‘‘romanticism,” the renaissance of wonder. In almost innumerable ways the world ac- quired a new power of appeal and response to man. The glory of lake and mountain and meadow, the exquisite grace of childhood, the dignity and worth of manhood, the intrinsic interest of the commonplace,—to these and to other influences of a similar character mankind became sensitive. Romanticism was in truth an extraordinary devel- opment of imaginative sensibility, and the centre of the movement in England lay in its various, intimate, and subtle interpretations of the world of nature. Through it nature became to man an inexhaustible resource. Therefore the conditions were ready and the time was ripe for such ideals of landscape gardening as those held and advo- cated by Repton. The work of Repton as landscape gardener is one of the most notable achievements in that pro- fession. He has to his credit the creation, trans- formation, or improvement of over two hundred important places. His clients were in all parts of England and included men of nearly every degree and station. And to appreciate the scope of Rep- ton’s practice we must call to mind the extent and character and marvellous beauty of the typical English country-place of the eighteenth century. It included not only all that is best in the private places of our own time, but alsothe adequate setting INTRODUCTION xvii for buildings of great size, corresponding to public buildings in the present day, and the creation of the type of scenery that is characteristic of mod- ern “rural” or “country” parks. Without doubt the most suggestive ideals for the public parks of our own great cities, ideals that have impressed themselves upon the most distinguished landscape architects since Repton’s day, are to be found in the “ park” or informal pleasure-grounds of a well- to-do Englishman’s estate. These ‘“‘ parks’? were extensive in area, usually including from one to a thousand acres, and possessed all the interest and charm of beautiful natural scenery enhanced and perfected by discriminating art. Repton’s knowledge of nature and command of the processes of art were not superficial. Nature he knew at first hand. He was himself a nature- lover. Before becoming a landscape gardener he was a “country gentleman.” But he was also an artist, gifted with what he repeatedly refers to as “good taste’’; and by study and experience he added to his natural gifts. His profession to him was primarily an opportunity for design, — design based alike upon an accurate knowledge of the peculiar local situation and conditions and upon the fundamental principles of art and the laws of nature. He knew well the meaning and value of such art principles as are suggested by the words proportion, variety, intricacy, harmony, and unity. One quotation will illustrate his point XVill INTRODUCTION of view. Speaking of intricacy he says: ‘‘ The eye, or rather the mind, is never long delighted with that which it surveys without effort, at a single glance, and therefore sees without exciting curios- ity or interest. It is not the vast extent of lawn, the great expanse of water, or the long range of wood, that yields satisfaction ; for these, if shapeless, or, which is the same thing, if their exact shape, how- ever large, be too apparent, only attract our notice by the space they occupy; to fill that space with objects of beauty, to delight the eye after it has been struck, to fix the attention where it has been caught, to prolong astonishment into admiration, are purposes not unworthy of the greatest designs.” He could not be accused of mere imitation, for, instead of attempting to reproduce the effects of nature in a mechanical or artificial way, he aimed rather to put in action the causes by which those effects are produced. Then, as he said, the effects would be natural. But Repton was also a practi- cal man. He appreciated the principle of utility. He, like his American successor, Olmsted, had no sympathy with a design that did not provide adequately and frankly for the plain necessities of human living. Half-hearted compromises did not meet his favour; nevertheless he took pains to reconcile these necessary and artificial features with the artistic aims of the design as a whole. Repton’s most permanent contribution to his art, however, is to be found not in his works of INTRODUCTION xix landscape gardening, but in his writings on that subject. Neither among his predecessors nor suc- cessors has there been a man of equal genius and experience who has left such a substantial body of opinion behind him. This is the result partly of his desire permanently to lift his chosen pro- fession to a higher plane, and partly of his sys- tematic methods of work, which made it possible for him, even in the midst of a very active practice, to prepare material for publication. He speaks of his writings as ‘‘ observations tending to establish fixed principles in the art of landscape garden- ing.” His profession, he contended, should not be founded upon caprice and fashion. This view is well expressed in his dedication to King George ITI of his first book, ‘“‘Sketches and Hints on Land- scape Gardening,” in which he says: “ If it should appear that, instead of displaying new doctrines or furnishing novel ideas, this volume serves rather *by a new method to elucidate old established principles, and to confirm long received opinions, I can only plead in my excuse that true taste, in every art, consists more in adapting tried ex- pedients to peculiar circumstances than in that inordinate thirst after novelty, the characteristic of uncultivated minds, which from the facility of inventing wild theories, without experience, are apt to suppose that taste is displayed by novelty, genius by innovation, and that every change must necessarily tend to improvement.”’ XxX INTRODUCTION Repton’s important writings are based upon his unique “ Red Books.” When asked for his opinion concerning the improvement of a place he was in the habit of delivering it in writing, bound in a small book, which contained maps, plans, and sketches to explain and illustrate the work or alterations proposed. This he called the “Red Book” of the place. More than two hun- dred such books were prepared by him in the course of his extensive practice. Therefore his published works, comprising as they do the most valuable material of the “‘Red Books,” are not mere theories of landscape gardening; they re- present the permanent results of his experience. Not only from their substance are they of value, but from their form also. They were written and illustrated not for his professional colleagues, but for his clients. Thus they have a wider appeal. They are free from technical terms and from small and relatively unimportant details. The only limitation upon the value of these writings is an inevitable scrappiness and repetition due to their origin and the conditions under which they were prepared for publication. As he quaintly observes in the preface to his most valuable book, “The Theory and Practice of Landscape Gar- dening,” “the whole of this work has been written in a carriage during professional journeys from one place to another, and being seldom more than three days together in one place, the difh- INTRODUCTION Xx! culty of producing this volume, such as it is, can hardly be conceived by those who enjoy the blessings of stationary retirement or a permanent home.” To an unusual degree Repton’s books state his own theory, relate his own practice, record his own ideals. They are the basis upon which he wished posterity to judge him, for’ he says: “It is rather upon my opinions in writing than on the partial and imperfect manner in which my plans have sometimes been executed, that I wish my fame to be established.’ The present volume is published to supply the demand for Repton’s counsel. It is issued under the title of “The Art of Landscape Gardening,’ and contains his two best works: ‘Sketches and Hints on Landscape Gardening,” published in 1795, and “The Theory and Practice of Landscape Gar- dening,” published in 1803. These two books, reprinted and illustrated in modern form and edited the better to serve modern conditions, constitute, it is believed, one of the most valuable works in English upon the principles of laying- out ground. To make his designs intelligible Repton found that a mere map or plan was insufficient; it could no more convey an idea of the landscape than the ground-plan of a house could of its elevation. To remedy this deficiency he invented a method of showing the proposed improvements by means of two illustrations or slides, as he called them, Xxil INTRODUCTION one imposed upon the other. These were usually in colour, the upper one representing the scene as it existed and the under one the scene as pro- posed. His object, he said, was “ not to produce a book of pictures, but to furnish some hints for establishing the fact that true taste in landscape gardening, as well as in all the other polite arts, is not an accidental effect, operating on the out- ward senses, but an appeal to the understanding, which is able to compare, to separate, and to com- bine the various sources of pleasure derived from external objects, and to trace them to some pre- existing cause in the structure of the human mind.”’ It did not seem feasible nor indeed neces- sary to include in this volume all the illustra- tions in Repton’s works, but those shown have been selected with discrimination to enforce the main points in his philosophy of landscape art. These are supplemented by a few recently taken photographs of English country-places, the im- provement of which was outlined over a century ago by Repton himself. Repton and his work occupy a unique and per- manently important place in the history of land- scape gardening. He cameata time of significant development in his profession, and by his native genius and attainments he secured the patronage of all England. He had opportunity to work out his ideas and ideals under unusually congenial conditions. Le Notre himself, with the support INTRODUCTION XXI11 and favour of Louis XIV, scarcely surpassed him in opportunity. He became the medium for the practical expression of all that was best in the ‘“‘new”’ gardening,and he showed himself capable at the same time of respecting and preserving what was most worthy in the old or formal style. He was not an iconoclast. His taste was catholic. In discussing the two schools he says: “I do not profess to follow either Le Notre or Brown, but, selecting beauties from the style of each, to adopt so much of the grandeur of the former as may accord with a palace, and so much of the grace of the latter as may call forth the charms of nat- ural landscape. Each has its proper situation, and good taste will make fashion subservient to good sense.’’ Repton possessed exquisite refinement of taste, without reaching the point of fastidiousness. He displayed considerable ingenuity in meeting peculiar problems, and a sympathetic knowledge of the necessities of a convenient and comfortable home. Hispleasant personality, goodness of heart, and amiability undoubtedly helped his professional success. But the most significant contribution that remains for this and subsequent generations is his careful and complete statement in writing of the principles that he found fundamental in his long and instructive practice as a landscape gardener. Joun No ten. CampripcE, Mass., June, 1907. I SKETCHES AND HINTS ON LANDSCAPE-GARDENING Preface TO SKETCHES AND HINTS O improve the scenery of a country, and to dis- play its native beauties with advantage, is an art * which originated in England, and has therefore been called English gardening; yet as this expression is not sufficiently appropriate, especially since gardening, in its more confined sense of horticulture, has been like- wise brought to the greatest perfection in this country, I have adopted the term landscape gardening, as most proper, because the art can only be advanced and perfected by the united powers of the landscape painter and the practical gardener. The former must conceive a plan, which the latter may be able to execute; for though a painter may represent a beautiful landscape on his canvas, and even surpass nature by the com- bination of her choicest materials, yet the luxuriant imagination of the painter must be subjected to the gardener’s practical knowledge in planting, digging, and moving earth; that the simplest and readiest means of accomplishing each design may be suggested; since it is not by vast labour, or great expense, that nature is generally to be improved; on the contrary, << Insult not Nature with absurd expense, Nor spoil her simple charms by vain pretence ; Weigh well the subject, be with caution bold, Profuse of genius, not profuse of gold.’’ 4 PREFACE If the knowledge of painting be insufficient without that of gardening, on the other hand, the mere gardener, without some skill in painting, will seldom be able to form a just idea of effects before they are carried into execution. This faculty of foreknowing effects consti- tutes the master in every branch of the polite arts ; and can only be the result of a correct eye, a ready concep- tion, and a fertility of invention, to which the professor adds practical experience. But of this art, painting and gardening are not the only foundations: the artist must possess a competent knowledge of surveying, mechanics, hydraulics, agri- culture, botany, and the general principles of architect- ure. It can hardly be expected that a man bred and constantly living in the kitchen-garden should possess all these requisites; yet because the immortal Brown’ was originally a kitchen-gardener, it is too common to find every man who can handle a rake or spade pre- tending to give his opinion on the most difficult points of improvement. It may perhaps be asked from whence Mr. Brown derived his knowledge? — the answer is obvious: that, being at first patronised by a few persons of rank and acknowledged good taste, he acquired, by degrees, the faculty of prejudging effects; partly from repeated trials, and partly from the experience of those to whose conversation and intimacy his genius had introduced him: and although he could not design, himself, there exist many pictures of scenery, made under his instruction, which his imagination alone had painted. Since the art of landscape gardening requires the combination of certain portions of knowledge in so many different arts, it is no wonder that the professors PREFACE i of each should respectively suggest what is most ob- vious to their own experience ; and thus the painter, the kitchen-gardener, the engineer, the land-agent, and the architect will frequently propose expedients differ- ent from those which the landscape gardener may think proper to adopt. The difficulties which I have occa- sionally experienced from these contending interests induced me to make a complete digest of each subject proposed to my consideration, affixing the reasons on which my opinion was founded, and stating the com- “parative advantages to the whole of adopting or re- jecting certain parts of any plan. To make my designs intelligible, I found that a mere map was insufficient; as being no more capable of conveying an idea of the landscape than the ground-plan of a house does of its elevation. To remedy this deficiency, I delivered my Opinions in writing, that they might not be miscon- ceived or misrepresented ; and I invented the peculiar kind of slides to my sketches, some of which are here reproduced. Such drawings, to shew the proposed effects, can be useful but in a very few instances; yet I have often remarked, with some mortification, that it is the only part of my labours which the common observer has time or leisure to examine ; although it is the least part of that perfection in the art, to which these hints and sketches will, I hope, contribute. I confess that the great object of my ambition is not merely to produce a book of pictures, but to furnish some hints for establishing the fact that true taste in landscape gardening, as well as in all the other polite arts, is not an accidental effect, operating on the out- ward senses, but an appeal to the understanding, which sa oe aR es 6 PREFACE ee een NSIS fe) ee is able to compare, to separate, and to combine, the various sources of pleasure derived from external objects, and to trace them to some pre-existing causes in the structure of the human mind. Chapter I Different Characters and Situations LL rational improvement of grounds is, necessar- ily, founded on a due attention to the character and situation of the place to be improved: the former “teaches what is advisable, the latter what is possible, to be done; while the extent of the premises has less influence than is generally imagined ; as, however large or small it may be, one of the fundamental principles of landscape gardening is to disguise the real boundary. In deciding on the character of any place, some at- tention must be given to its situation with respect to other places; to the natural shape of the ground on which the house is or may be built; to the size and style of the house, and even to the rank of its possessor ; together with the use which he intends to make of it, whether as a mansion or constant residence, a sporting- seat, or a villa; which particular objects require distinct and opposite treatment. To give some idea of the vari- ety that abounds in the characters and situations of different places, it will be proper to insert a few speci- mens from different subjects: I shall begin this work, therefore, by a remarkable instance of situation, only two miles distant from the capital. Brandsbury * is situated on a broad swelling hill, the ground gently falling from the house (which looks on rich distances) in almost every direction. Except a very narrow slip of plantation to the north, two large elms near the house, and a few in hedge-rows at a distance, 8 Tue Art oF LanpscarPE GARDENING the spot is destitute of trees: the first object, therefore, must be to shelter the house by home shrubberies ; as on land of such value extensive plantations would be an unpardonable want of economy. No general plan of embellishment can, perhaps, be devised which is more eligible than that so often adopted by Mr. Brown, viz. to surround a paddock with a fence, enclosing a shrubbery and gravel walk round the premises: this idea was happily executed by him at Mr. Drummond’s delightful place near Stan- more; but as an attempt has been made to follow the same plan at Brandsbury, without considering the dif- ference of the two situations, I shall beg leave to explain myself by the following sections and remarks. Where the natural shape of the ground is concave, as that at Stanmore [ Fig.1], nothing can be more desir- i Fig. 1. Illustrating the shape of the ground at Stanmore. able than to enrich the horizon by plantations on the highest ground, and to flood the lowest by a lake or river: in sucha situation the most pleasing scenes will be within the pale, looking on the opposite rising bank fringed with trees, or occasionally catching distant views over or beyond the fence. On the contrary, if the natural shape be convex, any fence crossing the declivity must intercept those distant views which an eminence should command, and which DirFERENT CHARACTERS AND SITUATIONS 9 at Brandsbury are so rich and varied that nothing can justify their total exclusion. A walk round a paddock in such a situation, enclosed by a lofty fence, would be a continual source of mortification ; as every step would excite a wish either to peep through, or look over, the pale of confinement. i) E . ® os Gy Uf Fig. 2. Illustrating the shape of the ground at Brandsbury. Where all the surrounding country presents the most beautiful pasture-ground, instead of excluding the vast herds of cattle which enliven the scene, I recommend that only a sufficient quantity of land round the house be enclosed to shelter and screen the barns, stables, kitchen-garden, offices, and other useful but unpleasing objects ; and within this enclosure, though not contain- ing more than ten or twelve acres, I propose to conduct walks through shrubberies, plantations, and small se- questered lawns, sometimes winding into rich internal scenery, and sometimes breaking out upon the most pleasing points for commanding distant prospects: at such places the pale may be sunk and concealed, while in others it will be so hid by plantation that the twelve acres thus enclosed will appear considerably larger than the sixty acres originally intended to be surrounded by a park pale. The present character of Rivenhall Place is evidently gloomy and sequestered, with the appearance of being low and damp. The interference of art in former days has indeed rendered the improvement and restoration 10 Tuer Art or LAnpscAarpeE GARDENING of its natural beauties a work of some labour; yet, by availing ourselves of those natural beauties, and dis- placing some of the encumbrances of art, the character of the place may be made picturesque and cheerful, and the situation, which is not really damp, may be so man- aged as to lose that appearance. The first object is to remove the stables, and all the trees and bushes in the low meadow, which may then with ease be converted into a pleasing piece of water, in the front of the house. In its present state, two tall elms are the first objects that attract our notice; from the tops of these trees the eye measures downwards to the house, that is very in- distinctly seen amidst the confusion of bushes and build- ings with which it is encumbered ; and the present water appearing above the house, we necessarily conclude that the house stands low: but instead of this confusion, let water be the leading object, and the eye will naturally measure upwards to the house, and we shall then pro- nounce that it no longer appears in a low situation. However delightful a romantic or mountainous country may appear to a traveller, the more solid ad- vantages of a flat one to live in are universally allowed ; and in such a country, if the gentle swell of the ground occasionally presents the eye with hanging woods, dip- ping their foliage in an expanse of silvery lake, or softly gliding river, we no longer ask for the abrupt precipice or foaming cataract. Livermere Park possesses ample lawns, rich woods, and an excellent supply of good-col- oured water: its greatest defect is a want of clothing near the house, and round that part of the water where the banks are flat; yet, in other parts, the wood and -water are most beautifully connected with each other. Mitton Park. Where the ground naturally pre- sents very little inequality of surface, a great appearance DIFFERENT CHARACTERS AND SITUATIONS or of extent is rather disgusting than pleasing, and little advantage is gained by attempts to let in distant objects ; yet there is such infinite beauty to be produced by judi- clous management of the home scenery, as may well compensate the want of prospect. There is always great cheerfulness in a view on a flat lawn, well stocked with cattle, if it be properly bounded by a wood at a distance, neither too far off to lessen its importance nor too near to act as a confinement to the scene; and which contrib- utes also to break those straight aes that are the only causes of disgust in a flat situation. Uneven ground may be more striking as a picture and more interesting to the stranger’s eye, it may be more bold or magni- ficent or romantic, but the character of cheerfulness is peculiar to the plain. Whether this effect be produced by the apparent ease of communication, or by the larger proportion of sky which enters into the landscape, or by the different manner in which cattle form themselves into groups on a plain, or on a sloping bank, I confess I am at a loss to decide: all three causes may, perhaps, contribute to produce that degree of cheerfulness which every one must have observed in the scenery of Milton. Hasetrs Hay. There has hardly been proposed to my consideration a spot in which both situation and character have undergone a greater change than at Hasells Hall. From the former mode of approaching the house, especially from the Cambridge side, a stranger could hardly suppose there was any unequal ground in the park: even to the south, where the ground natur- ally falls towards a deep valley, the mistaken interference of art, in former days, had bolstered it up by flat bowl- ing-greens, and formal terraces ; while the declivity was so thickly planted as entirely to choke up the lowest ground, and shut out all idea of inequality. The first 12 Tue Art or LANpDscAPE GARDENING object of improvement is to point out those beautiful shapes in the ground which so copiously prevail in sev- eral parts of this park; the second, is to change its character of gloom and sombre dampness to a more cheerful shade; and the third, is to mark the whole with that degree of importance and extent which the size of the house and the surrounding territory demand. Cutrorp. The house stands on the side of a hill, gently sloping towards the south; but nearly one half of the natural depth of the valley has been destroyed to obtain an expanse of water, which, in so flat a situa- tion, I think ought not to have been attempted; and I am certain, by proper management of the water, the house would appear to stand on a sufficient eminence above it, and not so low as the present surface of the water seems to indicate; since the eye is always dis- posed to measure from the surface of neighbouring water, in forming a judgement of the height of any situation. Crewe Hatt. In judging the character of any place to which I am a stranger, I very minutely observe the first impression it makes upon my mind, and, compar- ing it with subsequent impressions, I inquire into the causes which may have rendered my first judgement erroneous. I confess there has hardly occurred to me an instance where I have experienced so great a fluc- tuation of opinion as in this place. I was led, from a consideration of the antiquity of the Crewe family in Cheshire, to expect a certain degree of magnificence ; but my first view of the house being from an unfavour- able point, and at too great a distance to judge of its real magnitude, I conceived it to be very small; and, measuring the surrounding objects by this false stand- ard, the whole place lost that importance which I after- DIFFERENT CHARACTERS AND SITUATIONS 13 wards found it assume on a closer examination. In former days the dignity of a house was supposed to increase in proportion to the quantity of walls and buildings with which it was surrounded: to these were sometimes added tall ranks of trees, whose shade contributed to the gloom at that time held essential to magnificence. Modern taste has discovered that greatness and cheerfulness are not incompatible; it has thrown down the ancient palisade and lofty walls because it is aware ‘that liberty is the true portal of happiness; yet, while it encourages more cheerful freedom, it must not lay aside becoming dignity. When we formerly approached the mansion through a village of its poor dependants, we were not offended at their proximity, because the massy gates and numerous courts sufficiently marked the distance betwixt the palace and the cottage: these being removed, other expedients must be adopted to restore the native character of Crewe Hall. Tatron Park. The situation of Tatton may be justly described as too splendid to be called interesting, and too vast to be deemed picturesque; yet it is alto- gether beautiful, in spite of that greatness which is rather the attribute of sublimity than of beauty. The mind is astonished and pleased at a very extensive prospect, but it cannot be interested, except by those objects which strike the eye distinctly ; and the scenery of Tatton is at present of a kind much beyond the pencil’s power to imitate with effect: it is like the at- tempt to paint a giant by himself in a miniature picture. Perfection in landscape may be derived from various sources: if it is sublime, it may be wild, romantic, or greatly extensive: if beautiful, it may be comfortable, interesting, and graceful in all its parts; but there is no 14 Tue Art or LanpscaPE GARDENING incongruity in blending these attributes, provided the natural situation continues to prevail; for this reason, no violation will be offered to the genius of Tatton Park, if we add to its splendour the amenity of inter- esting objects, and give to its vastness the elegance of comfort. It is not from the situation only that the character of Tatton derives its greatness. The command of ad- joining property, the style and magnitude of the man- sion and all its appendages contribute to confer that degree of importance which ought here to be the leading object in every plan of improvement. Vastness of ex- tent will no more constitute greatness of character in a park than a vast pile of differently coloured building will constitute greatness of character in a house. A park, from its vast extent, may perhaps surprise, but it will not impress us with the character of greatness and importance unless we are led to those parts where beauty is shewn to exist, with all its interest, amidst the boundless range of undivided property. Wemp ty. In the vicinity of the metropolis there are few places so free from interruption as the grounds at Wembly ; and, indeed, in the course of my experi- ence, I have seen no spot within so short a distance of London more perfectly secluded from those inter- ferences which are the common effects of divided pro- perty and a populous neighbourhood. Wembly is as quiet and retired at seven miles’ distance as it could have been at seventy. The fatal experience ofsome, who begin improvements by building a house too sumptuous for the grounds, has occasionally induced others to consider the grounds independent of the house; but this, I conceive, will unavoidably lead to error. It is not necessary that the DiFFERENT CHARACTERS AND SITUATIONS I$ house and grounds should correspond with each other in point of size, but the characters of each should be in strict harmony, since it is hardly less incongruous to see a palace by the side of a neglected common than an ugly ill-designed mansion, whether large or small, in the midst of highly-improved scenery, to every part of which it must be considered as a disgrace. We seck. The house appears to stand much lower than it really does on account of the entrance in the ,basement storey; which, if carried up to the principal floor, will not only be of great advantage to the inside, by removing all necessity for ascending the present staircase, but the effect on the outside will be much greater than may at first be imagined ; since, by giving an opportunity of altering the shape of the ground, it will take the house out of an hollow, and set it on a pleasing eminence. The ground, at present, slopes gradually towards the house, with a flat hanging level, which is evidently artificial; and from the northwest corner of the projecting wing there is a ridge of earth which divides this platform from the adjoining valley: the superfluous earth from this ridge will be sufficient to answer every purpose of raising the lawn to the house; and I propose to slope the ground with a grad- ual fall from the riding-house to the valley, and to cross this fall by an additional steep from the west front, making both to wind naturally towards the low ground of the valley. The earth may be raised just above the tops of the windows in the basement storey, which may still be sufficiently lighted by an area; but when the lower row of windows is totally hid, the house will appear too long for its height, and the depth of roof will be still more conspicuous. After various attempts to counteract this awkward effect, without any great oper- 16 Tue Art or LanpscaPpE GARDENING ation, the following appeared the most simple: viz. that the present pediment (which is incongruous to the battlements) should be raised as a square tower, and that the parapets, also, at the ends of the building, ~ should be raised to unite with the chimneys in the gables. This will serve not only to hide more of the roof, but will give that importance to the whole fabric, which, in a large mass of Gothic building, is always increased by the irregularity of its outline. I have also changed the colour of the roof and chimneys: for, though such minutia are apt to pass unnoticed in the great outline of improvement, I con- sider the mention of them as a duty of my profession; as the motley appearance of red brick with white stone, by breaking the unity of effect, will often destroy the magnificence of the most splendid composition. Chapter II Buildings HE perfection of landscape gardening depends on a concealment of those operations of art by which mature is embellished; but where buildings are intro- duced, art declares herself openly, and should, therefore, be very careful, lest she have cause to blush at her inter- ference. It is this circumstance that renders it absolutely necessary for the landscape gardener to have a com- petent knowledge of architecture: I am, however, well aware that no art is more difficult to be acquired; and although every inferior workman pretends to give plans for building, yet perfection in that art is confined to a very few gentlemen, who, with native genius and a lib- eral education, have acquired good taste by travel and observation. This remark proceeds from the frequent instances I continually see of good houses built without any taste, and attempts to embellish scenery by ornamental buildings that are totally incongruous to their respect- ive situations. The country carpenter or bricklayer is only accustomed to consider detached parts; the arch- itect, on the contrary, finds it his office to consider the whole. There is some degree of merit in building good rooms, but there is more in connecting’ these rooms together; however, it is the regular bred archi- tect alone who can add to these an outside according to the established rules of art: and where these rules are grossly violated, the eye of genuine taste will in- 18 Tue Art or LanpscarpeE GARDENING stantly be offended, although it may not always be able to explain the cause of its disgust. To my profession belongs chiefly the external part of architecture or a knowledge of the effect of buildings on the surrounding scenery. . We seck. As every conspicuous building in a park should derive its character from that of the house, it is very essential to fix, with some precision, what that character ought to be; yet the various tastes of success- ive ages have so blended opposite styles of architecture that it is often difficult, in an old house, to determine the date to which its true character belongs. I venture to deliver it as my opinion that there are only two characters of buildings: the one may be called per- pendicular, and the other horizontal. Under the first, I class all buildings erected in England before and dur- ing the early part of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, whether deemed Saracenic, Saxon, Norman, or the Gothic of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries; and even that peculiar kind called Queen Elizabeth’s Gothic, in which turrets prevailed, though battlements were discarded and Grecian columns occasionally introduced. Underthe horizontal character I include all edifices built since the introduction of a more regular architecture, whether it copies the remains of Grecian or Roman models. The character of the house should, of course, pre- vail in all such buildings as are very conspicuous, or in any degree intended as ornaments to the general scenery ; such as lodges, pavilions, temples, belvederes, and the like. Yet, in adapting the Gothic style to buildings of small extent, there may be some reason- able objection: the fastidiousness even of good taste will, perhaps, observe that we always see vast piles of buildings in ancient Gothic remains, and that it is BuILDINGS 19 a modern or false Gothic only which can be adapted to so small a building as a keeper’s lodge, a reposoir, or a pavilion. There may be some force in this objection, but there is always so much picturesque effect in the small fragments of those great piles that, without re- presenting them as ruins, it is surely allowable to copy them for the purposes of ornament: and with respect to the mixture of different styles in Gothic edifices, I think there is no incongruity, provided the same character of perpendicular architecture be studiously retained; because there is hardly a cathedral in England in which such mixture may not be observed: and while the antiquary only can discover the Saxon and Norman styles from the Gothic of later date, the eye of taste will never be offended, except by the occasional intro- duction of some Grecian or Roman ornaments. Wemsty. The characters of Grecian and Gothic architecture are better distinguished by an attention to their general effects than to the minute parts. peculiar to each. It is in architecture as in painting, beauty depends on light and shade, and these are caused by the openings or projections in the surface: if these tend to produce horizontal lines, the building must be deemed Grecian, however whimsically the doors or windows may be constructed ; if, on the contrary, the shadows give a prevalence of perpendicular lines, the general character of the building will be Gothic; and this is evident from the large houses built in Queen Eliza- beth’s reign, where Grecian columns are introduced ; nevertheless, we always consider them as Gothic build- ings. In Grecian architecture, we expect large cornices, windows ranged perfectly on the same line, and that line often more strongly marked by a horizontal fascia ; 20 Tue Art or LANpscAPpE GARDENING but there are few breaks of any great depth; and if there be a portico, the shadow made by the columns is very trifling, compared with that broad horizontal shadow proceeding from the soffit; and the only ornament its roof will admit is either a flat pediment, departing very little from the horizontal tendency, or a dome, still rising from a horizontal base. With such buildings it may often be observed that trees of a pointed or conic shape have a beautiful effect, I believe chiefly from the circumstances of contrast; though an association with the ideas of Italian paintings, where we often see Grecian edifices blended with firs and cypresses, may also have some influence on the mind. Trees of a conic shape mixed with Gothic buildings displease, from their affinity with the prevalent lines of the architecture ; since the play of light and shadow in Gothic structures must proceed from those bold projec- tions, either of towers or buttresses, which cause strong shadows in a perpendicular direction: at the same time the horizontal line of roof is broken into an irregular surface by the pinnacles, turrets, and battlements that form the principal enrichment of .Gothic architecture ; which becomes, therefore, peculiarly adapted to those situations where the shape of the ground occasionally hides the lower part of the building, while its roof is relieved by trees, whose forms contrast with those of the Gothic outline. As this observation is new, and may, perhaps, be thought too fanciful, I must appeal to the eye, by the help of the illustration [ Plate 1], which I hope will find that my observation is not wholly chimerical ; and will, con- sequently, lay the foundation for this general principle ; viz. that the lines of Gothic buildings are contrasted with round-headed trees ; or, as Milton observes, — serareicenecesean scones mest ttnanen sea -wemnseapseneestsce ewn eeenere/oaemme ems pera een a eee rene angen nee-eetseerepe Ieee reincmnecnsememeeecaemeascemmmeemmme cent once emmermanciat- ene nema opener oes EE Ae NTI a ee eae Nes naan eel Pee Sense cmenucc sea Spaces ee - as ~ we *_a-sa Si ate | > ' 4 a - ‘ * - ¢ fs : i : 4 ¥ = a ‘ . * . +. al de A a ic = , i 2" * 2K ne a) s ’ = ~ * . ‘ - ; . - as $ r ¥ 7 ny 5 . rm y - : c= - . ot: ¢ " Fs ' f ‘ sooJ) pajurod pue poproy-punol YUAL ISPIJUOD UT IINJOOYOIe OIYIOL) PUB IISSPT) Suryessnyy ] *T ILY Td BuILDINGS 21 «< Towers and battlements he sees, Embosom’d high in tufted trees’” ; and that those of the Grecian will accord either with round or conic trees; but if the base be hid the con- trast of the latter will be most pleasing. The Gothic style of architecture being the most cal- culated for additions or repairs to an old house, I might here venture to recommend it on the score of mere utility ; but when we take into the account that pictur- esque effect which is always produced by the mixture of Gothic buildings with round-headed trees, I confess myself to be rather sanguine in my hopes of produc- ing such beauty at Wembly as will render that house, which has hitherto been a reproach to the place, the leading feature of the scenery. Instead of clogging all the improvements with the dread of shewing the house, I conceive it possible, without any very great expense, to convert the house itself into the most pleasing object throughout every part of the grounds from whence it may be visible. Having stated some arguments for adopting the Gothic style, I shall now proceed to consider the objec- tions that may be urged against it. The first objection will arise from the expense of altering the outside, without any addition to the inter- nal comfort of the mansion. The same objection may, indeed, be made to every species of external ornament in dress, furniture, equipage, or any other object of taste or elegance: the outside case of a harpsichord does not improve the tone of the instrument, but it decorates the room in which it is placed: thus it is as an ornament to the beautiful grounds at Wembly that I contend for the external improvement of the house. But in altering the house, we may add a room to any 22 Tue Art oF LANpscAPE GARDENING part of the building without injuring the picturesque outside, because an exact symmetry, so far from being necessary, is rather to be avoided in a Gothic building. Another objection may arise from the smallness of the house, as Gothic structures are in general of consid- erable magnitude; but the character of great or small is not governed by measurement: a great building may be made to appear small; and it is from the quantity of windows, and not their size, that we should pro- nounce the house at Wembly to be a very consider- able edifice. AqsoJOuUy, “[] ILVIg sivag ‘A *L Aq paydesdoj0qg A seat ereeae? hae conic < es = x ry ; ~ Chapter III Proper Situations for a House ELBECK. However various opinions may be on the choice of a situation for a house, yet there appear to be certain principles on which such choice ought to be founded ; and these may be deduced from the following considerations : First. The natural character of the surrounding country. Secondly. The style, character, and size of the house. Thirdly. The aspects of exposure, both with regard to the sun and the prevalent winds of the country. Fourthly. The shape of the ground near the house. Fifthly. The views from the several apartments; and, Sixthly The numerous objects of comfort : — such as a dry soil, a supply of good water, proper space for offices, with various other conveniences essential to a mansion in the country; and which in a town may sometimes be dispensed with, or at least very differ- ently disposed. It is hardly possible to arrange these six considera- tions according to their respective weight or influence, which must depend on a comparison of one with the other, under a variety of circumstances; and even on the partiality of individuals in affixing different degrees of importance to each consideration. Hence it is ob- vious that there can be no danger of sameness in any two designs conducted on principles thus established, 24 Tue Art or LanpscaPpE GARDENING since in every different situation some one or more of these considerations must preponderate; and the most rational decision will result from a combined view of all the separate advantages or disadvantages to be fore- seen from each.3 It was the custom of former times, in the choice of domestic situations, to let comfort and convenience prevail over every other consideration : thus the ancient baronial castles were built on the summit of hills, in times when defence and security suggested the neces- sity of placing them there, and difficulty of access was a recommendation which, in our happier days, exists no more. But when this necessity no longer operated (as mankind are always apt to fly from one extreme to the other), houses were universally erected in the low- est situations, with a probable design to avoid those inconveniences to which the lofty positions had been subject; hence the frequent sites of many large man- sions, and particularly abbeys and monasteries, the residence of persons who were willing to sacrifice the beauty of prospect for the more solid and permanent advantages of habitable convenience: amongst which shelter from wind and a supply of water were pre- dominant considerations. Nor shall I withhold the fol- lowing conjecture, which I hope will not be considered as a mere suggestion of fancy. When such buildings were surrounded by trees for the comfort of shade, might not the occasional want of circulation in the air have given the first idea of cutting long narrow glades through the woods to admit a current of wind? and is it not possible that this was the origin of those avenues which we frequently see pointing, from every direction, towards the most respectable habitations of the two last centuries ? Proper SITUATIONS FOR A House 25 Lanctey. It seems to have been as much the fash- ion of the present century to condemn avenues as it was in the last to plant them ; and yet the subject is so little understood that most people think they suff- ciently justify their opinion, in either case, by merely saying, “I like an avenue,” or, “I hate an avenue”’: it is my business to analyse this approbation or disgust. The several degrees of pleasure which the mind derives from the love of order, of unity, antiquity, greatness of parts, and continuity are all in some meas- Ure gratified by the long perspective view of a stately avenue: for the truth of this assertion I appeal to the sensations that every one must have felt who has visited the lofty avenues of Windsor, Hatfield, Burleigh, etc., before experience had pointed out that tedious sameness and the many inconveniences which have deservedly brought avenues into disrepute. This sameness is so obvious that, by the effect of avenues, all novelty or diversity of situation is done away ; and the views from every house in the kingdom may be reduced to the same landscape, if looking up or down a straight line, betwixt two green walls, deserves the name of landscape. Among the inconveniences of long straight avenues may very properly be reckoned that of their acting as wind-spouts to direct cold blasts with more violence upon the dwelling, as driven through a long tube. But I propose rather to consider the objections in point of beauty. If at the end of a long avenue be placed an obelisk, or temple, or any other eye-trap, ignorance or childhood alone will be caught or pleased by it: the eye of taste or experience hates compulsion, and turns away with disgust from every artificial means of attracting its notice. For this reason an avenue is 26 Tue Art oF LAnpscaPpE GARDENING most pleasing, which, like that at Langley Park, climbs up a hill, and, passing over its summit, leaves the fancy to conceive its termination.‘ One great mischief of an avenue is that it divides a park and cuts it into separate parts, destroying that unity of lawn or wood which is necessary to please in every composition: this is so obvious that, where a long avenue runs through a park from east to west, it would be hardly possible to avoid distinguishing it into the north and south lawn, or north and south division of the park. But the greatest objection to an avenue is that (espe- cially in uneven ground) it will often act as a curtain drawn across to exclude what is infinitely more interest- ing than any row of trees, however venerable or beau- tiful in themselves; and it is in undrawing this curtain at proper places that the utility of what is called break- ing an avenue consists: for it is in vain we shall en- deavour, by removing nine tenths of the trees in rows, to prevent its having the effect of an avenue when seen from eitherend. The illustration [ Plate 111] may serve to shew the effect of cutting down some chestnut-trees in the avenue at Langley, to let in the hill, richly covered with oaks, and that majestic tree which steps out be- fore its brethren like the leader of a host. Such open- ings may be made in several parts of this avenue with wonderful effect; and yet its venerable appearance from the windows of the saloon will not be injured, because the trees removed from the rows will hardly be missed in the general perspective view from the house. And though I should not advise the planting such an avenue, yet there will always be so much of ancient grandeur in the front trees, and in looking up this long vista at Langley, that I do not wish it should be further Proper SITUATIONS FOR A House 27 disturbed, especially as the views on each side are suf- ficiently capable of yielding beauty; and, when seen from the end rooms of the house, the avenue will act as a foreground to either landscape. Hanstopz. Most of the large trees at Hanslope stand in avenues, yet their pleasant shade forbids the cutting down many of them, merely because the false taste of former times has planted them in rows; at least till those plantations which are now made shall better replace the shelter which the avenues in some fheasure afford. The breaking of an avenue to the north is not to be done by merely taking away certain trees, but also by planting a thicket before the trunks of those at a distance; as we may be thus induced to forget that they stand in rows. The addition of a few single trees, guarded by cradles, though often used as an expedient to break a row, never produces the desired effect: the original lines are for ever visible.5 Werseck. Besides the character which the style and size of the house will confer on a place, there is a natural character of country which must influence the site and disposition of a house; and though, in the country, there is not the same occasion as in towns for placing offices under ground, or for setting the principal apart- ments on a basement storey, as itis far more desirable to walk from the house on the same level with the ground, yet there are situations which require to be raised above the natural surface: this is the case at Welbeck, where the park not only abounds with bold and conspicuous inequalities, but in many places there are almost imperceptible swellings in the ground, which art would in vain attempt to remedy, from their vast breadth; though they are evident defects whenever they appear to cut across the stems of trees and hide 28 Tue Art oF LANDSCAPE GARDENING only half their trunks ; for if the whole trunk were per- fectly hid by such a swell, the injury would be less, because the imagination is always ready to sink the valley and raise the hill, if not checked in its efforts by some actual standard of measurement. In such cases the best expedient is to view the ground from a gentle eminence, that the eye may look over and, of course, lose these trifling inequalities. The family apartments are to the south, the prin- cipal suite of rooms to the east, and the hall and some rooms of less importance to the west ; when, therefore, the eating-room and kitchen offices shall be removed to the north, it is impossible to make a better disposi- tion of the whole, with regard to aspect. I shall there- fore proceed to the fourth general head proposed for consideration, viz. the shape of the ground near the house: and as the improvement at Welbeck, origin- ally suggested by His Grace the Duke of Portland, has, I confess, far exceeded even my own expectations, I shall take the liberty of drawing some general con- clusions on the subject, from the success of this bold experiment. At the time I had the honour to deliver my former opinion, my idea of raising the ground near the house was confined to the west front alone; and, till it had been exemplified and executed, few could comprehend the seeming paradox of burying the bot- tom of the house as the means of elevating the whole structure ; or, as it was very wittily expressed, “ mould- ing up the roots of the venerable pile, that it might shoot up in fresh towers from its top.” All natural shapes of ground must necessarily fall under one of these descriptions, viz., convex, concave, plane, or inclined plane, as represented in the follow- ing sections [Fig. 3]. I will suppose it granted that, Proper SITUATIONS FoR A House 29 except in very romantic situations, all the rooms on the principal floor ought to range on the same level ; and that there must be a platform, or certain space of ground, with a gentle descent from the house every way. If the ground be naturally convex, or what is generally called a knoll, the size of the house must WAG N . A AQ \\ \\ \ Fig. 3. Sections to shew the manner of adapting houses to different natural shapes of ground. be adapted to the size of the knoll: this is shown by the small building a, supposed to be only one hun- dred feet in front, which may be placed upon such a hillock, with a sufficient platform round it; but if a building of three hundred feet long, as B 3B, should be required, it is evident that the crown of the hill must be taken off, and then the shape of the ground becomes very different from its original form: for although the small house would have a sufficient plat- form, the large one will be on the brink of a very steep 30 Tue Art oF LanpscareE GARDENING bank at c; and this difficulty would be increased by raising the ground to the dotted line p, to set the large house on the same level with the smaller one. It therefore follows that if the house must stand on a natural hillock, the building should not be larger than its situation will admit; and where such hillocks do not exist in places proper for a house in every other respect, it is sometimes possible for art to supply what nature seems to have denied. But it is not possible in all cases; a circumstance which proves the absurdity of those architects who design and plan a house, without any previous knowledge of the situation or shape of the ground on which it is to be built. Such errors I have had too frequent occasion to observe. When the shape is naturally either concave or per- fectly flat, the house would not be habitable unless the ground sloped sufficiently to throw the water from it. This is often effected, in a slight degree, merely by the earth that is dug from the cellars and foundations ; but if, instead of sinking the cellars, they were to be built upon the level of the ground, they may afterwards be so covered with earth as to give all the appearance of a natural knoll, the ground falling from the house to any distance where it may best unite with the natural shape, as shewn at £, F, and G: or, as it frequently happens that there may be small hillocks, H and 1, near the house, one of them may be removed to effect this pur- pose. This expedient can also be used in an inclined plane, falling towards the house, where the inclination is not very great, as shewn at L; but it may be ob- served of the inclined plane that the size of the house must be governed in some measure by the fall of the ground; since it is evident that although a house of a hundred feet deep might stand at k, yet it would Proper SITUATIONS FOR A House 34 require an artificial terrace on that side; because neither of the dotted lines shewn there would connect with the natural shape; and where the ground cannot be made to look natural, it is better, at all times, to avow the interference of art than to attempt an ineffectual concealment of it. Such situations are peculiarly appli- cable to the Gothic style, in which horizontal lines are unnecessary. These sections can only describe the shape of the ground as it cuts across in any one direction. But an- other shape is also to be considered: thus it generally happens that a knoll is longer one way than the other, or it may even extend to a natural ridge, of sufficient length for a long and narrow house; but such a house must be fitted to the ground, for it would be absurd in the architect to place it either diagonally or directly across such a ridge. The same holds good of the inclined plane, which is, in fact, always the side of a valley whose general inclination must be consulted in the position of the building. A square house would appear awry unless its fronts were made to correspond with the shape of the adjacent ground. I shall conclude this digression by observing that on a dead flat or plain the principal apartments ought to be elevated, as the only means of shewing the land- scape to advantage. Where there is no inequality, it will be very difficult to unite any artificial ground with the natural shape: it will in this case be advisable either to raise it only a very few feet or to set the house on a basement storey. But wherever a park abounds in natural inequalities, even though the ground near the house should be flat, we may boldly venture to create an artificial knoll, as it has been executed at Welbeck. Chapter IV W ater HERE being no part of my profession so cap- tivating in its effect, and oftentimes so readily executed, as making a large piece of artificial water, it may be proper, in this volume, to give a few specimens of different improvements presumed to have been produced by it: though, if all that I have written to explain and elucidate this subject were to be inserted, the whole of the volume would be engrossed by it. I must, therefore, for the present, only mention a few places where artificial pieces of water have been orna- mented under my directions:° viz. at Holkham, the magnificent lake has been dressed by walks on its banks, and a peculiar ferryboat invented to unite the opposite shores. We seck. From the number of small promontories and bays, together with its termination full in view of the house, the water at Welbeck had acquired the char- acter, and indeed the name, of a lake: but as a large river is always more beautiful than a small lake, the character has been changed, not only by continuing it beyond the house, but also by altering its line, and taking off those projections which were inconsistent with the course of a natural river. Tarton Park. It has often been asserted by authors on gardening that all pieces of fresh water must come under one of these descriptions, —a Jake, a pool, a river, or a rivulet: but since my acquaintance with Cheshire, W ATER 33 I am inclined to add the meer, as an intermediate term between the lake and the pool; it being, frequently, too large to be deemed a pool, and too small as well as too round in its form to deserve the name of a lake: for the beauty of a lake consists not so much in its size as in those deep bays and bold promontories which prevent the eye from ranging over its whole surface. What is best respecting the two large meers in Tatton Park is a question of some difficulty, and on which there has been a variety of opinions. I shall now pro- ceed to deliver mine, and endeavour to explain the reasons on which it is founded. Unity of design in all compositions is, confessedly, one of the first principles in each of the polite arts; and nothing, perhaps, evinces more strongly the love of unity acting on the mind in landscape gardening than the following fact,—viz. that the most super- ficial observer of any park scene will be displeased by the view of two separate pieces of water; and he will probably ask, without reflecting on the difference of levels, why they are not formed into one? The first opinion seems, therefore, that these two waters should be united: but if the union is not clearly possible, it certainly ought not to be attempted. The second opin- ion is that the upper pool ought to be destroyed, or, as some express themselves, should be filled up: but the latter would be an Herculean labour to very little purpose, and the former, though practicable, would not be advisable, because so deep a hollow immediately in front of the house would be a yawning chasm, very difficult to convert into an object of beauty. My opin- ion, therefore, is that the two waters should, from the house, appear to be connected with each other, although in reality they are very far asunder; and the means of 34 Tue Art or Lanpscape GARDENING effecting such a deception will require some theoretical reasoning to explain. The deception at present operates to the disadvant- age of the waters, for I was myself greatly deceived in the size of this pool when I looked at it from the house ; and as it produces a similar effect on every person who first sees it, I must explain the causes of the deception. First. The net fence through which the water ap- pears is so near the windows that, by the laws of per- spective (of which I will explain some general rules in the sequel), it acts as a false standard, and by it we measure the size of the pool. It was for this reason that I desired some cattle might be driven on the banks, which, as I have elsewhere shewn, are the best standard for assisting the judgement with respect to the distance, and, of course, the dimensions of other objects. Secondly. The pool is almost circular, and the eye darts round its border with such instantaneous im- perceptible velocity that it is impossible to suppose its circumference to be nearly a mile, unless we can see cattle on the opposite shores; and then, by their respective dimensions, we judge of the comparative distance. The sheep on one side the water appear to be larger than the cows on the other. The bay or creek may be hid by shrubs, which will give the eye a check in its circuitous progress. To explain the uses of the other bay (which seems to connect the water in the foreground with the water in the distance), I must take the liberty to describe some effects in perspective, not, I believe, generally attended to in gardening. Perspective, in painting, is known to be of two kinds: the first is called linear per- spective, and is that by which objects appear to diminish in proportion to the distance at which they are viewed. WATER 35 This I have here already mentioned, in referring to the use of cattle as a scale of measurement: a horse, a cow, or a sheep is very nearly of the same size, and with this size the mind is perfectly acquainted ; but trees, bushes, hills, or pools of water are so various in their dimensions that we are never able to judge exactly of their size or at what distance they appear to us. The second kind of perspective is aerial, as it depends on the atmosphere; since we observe that objects not only diminish in their size but in their distinctness, in proportion to the body of air betwixt the eye and the objects: those nearest are strongly represented, while other parts, as they recede, become less distinct, till at last the outline of a distant hill seems melting into the air itself. Such are the laws of aerial perspective on all objects, but not on all alike; since it is the peculiar property of light, and the reflection of light, unmixed by colour, to suffer much less by comparison than any other object. It is for this reason that we are so much deceived in the distance of perfectly white objects: the light reflected from a whitewashed house makes it appear out of its place; snow, at many miles’ distance, appears to be in the next field; indeed, so totally are we unable to judge of light that a meteor within our atmosphere is sometimes mistaken for a lantern; at others, for a falling star. Water, like a mirror, reflect- ing the light, becomes equally uncertain in its real distance ; and, therefore, an apparent union of the two meers in Tatton Park may be effected by attending to this circumstance. The large piece of water crosses the eye in the view from the house; consequently it looks much less considerable than it really is, and its effect is of little advantage to the scene, being too distant, and too widely separated by the vast tract of low ground 36 Tue Art or LanpscaPeE GARDENING betwixt the pool and the lake. I propose that this water should be rendered more interesting, by making it appear as if the arm of a river proceeded from the lake ; and its termination will easily be hid in the (dis- tant) valley. I hope it will appear that the ideal con- nexion of the two waters may be accomplished, although the actual junction is impracticable. The facility of de- ception arises from the causes already stated, viz. that water is a mirror from which light is strongly reflected, and that of the distance betwixt any light and the eye we form a very inaccurate judgement: it is, therefore, impossible to know, by looking on the surfaces of two distinct waters, whether they are of the same level, unless some ground betwixt them assists the measure- ment. We have, therefore, only to bring the two meers nearer to each other, and give their forms such curv- ature as I have described, to produce that effect of apparent unity, which is all that is necessary in this instance. I am aware of the common objection to all efforts that may be deemed deceptions ; but it is the business of taste, in all the polite arts, to avail itself of strata- gems by which the imagination may be deceived. The images of poetry and of painting are then most inter- esting when they seduce the mind to believe their fictions ; and in landscape gardening everything may be called a deception by which we endeavour to conceal the agency of art and make our works appear the sole product of nature. The most common attempts to improve may, indeed, be called deceptions: we plant a hill to make it appear higher than it is; we open the banks of a brook, to give it the appearance of a river ; or stop its current, to produce an expanse of surface ; we sink the fence betwixt one lawn and another, to WATER 37 give imaginary extent, without inconvenience or con- finement ; and every piece of artificial water, whether it take the shape of a lake, a river, or a pool, must look natural or it will fail to be agreeable. Nor is the im- agination so fastidious as to take offence at any well- supported deception, even after the want of reality is discovered. When we are interested at a tragedy, we do not inquire whence the characters are copied; on the contrary, we forget that we see a Garrick or a Sid- dons, and join in the sorrows of a Belvidere or a Beverley, though we know that no such persons ever existed: it is enough if so much as we are shewn of the character appears to be a just resemblance of nature. In the same manner the magnificent water at Blen- heim strikes with wonder and delight, while we neither see its beginning nor end; and we do not view it with less pleasure after we are told that it was not originally a natural lake, but that Mr. Brown, stopping the cur- rent of a small river, collected this vast body of water into the beautiful shape we now admire. Mr. Burke very justly observes “that a true artist should put a generous deceit on the spectators, and effect the noblest designs by easy methods. Designs that are vast only by their dimensions are always the sign of a common and low imagination. No work of art can be great but as it deceives; to be otherwise is the prerogative of nature only.’’” Chapter V Large Private Places * ELBECK. The view from the principal apart- ments should bear some proportion to the impor- tance of the house itself; not so much in the quantity or extent of the prospect as in the nature of the ob- jects which compose the scenery ; an extensive prospect being only applicable to a castle, a villa, ora belvedere. The landscape from a palace should everywhere appear appropriate to the magnificence or pleasure of its in- habitants: the whole should be, or at least appear to be, a park, unlimited and unconfined by those lines of division or boundary which characterize the large grass-fields of a dairy-farm. Yet a park has a character distinct from a forest; for while we admire and even imitate the romantic wildness of nature, we ought never to forget that a park is the habitation of men, and not solely devoted to beasts of the forest. I am convinced that some enthusiasic admirers of uncultivated nature are too apt to overlook this distinction. Park scenery compared with forest scenery is like an historical picture compared with a landscape; nature must alike prevail in both, but that which relates to man should have a higher place in the scale of arts. The objects which nature has furnished at Welbeck are of the most beautiful kind, and truly in character with the dignity of the place. The vast range of woods, the extensive lawns, the broad expanse of river, and the astonishing oaks scattered about the park seem to yleg Jooq au, — Aqsasoy,, “AT a1VIg sivas "MA ‘LE Aq paydessojoyg he SS I a LarcE PRIVATE PLACES 39 require but a little attention from art to’mark the re- sidence of a noble possessor; yet, as there are a few instances in which the interference of art can openly be acknowledged, those few should not be neglected. Buildings, however simple, if in character and not too numerous, will more than anything contribute to dis- play magnificence. Woods enriched by buildings, and water enlivened by a number of pleasure-boats, alike contribute to mark a visible difference betwixt the magnificent scenery of a“park and that of a sequestered forest: the trees, the water, the lawns, and the deer are alike common to both. There is another distinction betwixt park and forest scenery on which I shall beg leave to state my opinion, as it has been a topic of some doubt and difficulty amongst the admirers of my profession, viz. how far gravel roads are admissible across the lawns of a park: yet surely very little doubt will remain on this subject when we consider a park as a place of residence; and see the great inconvenience to which grass roads are continually liable. I have endeavoured to discover two reasons which may have given rise to the common technical objection that a gravel road cuts up a lawn: the first arises from the effect observed after an avenue has been destroyed, where the straight line of gravel, which formerly was less offensive while accompanied by trees, becomes in- tolerable when it divides a small lawn directly through the middle. The other arises from the effect which even a winding turnpike road has in destroying the seques- tered andsolemn dignity of forest scenery: but in a park a road of convenience and of breadth proportioned to its intention as an approach to the house for visitors will often be a circumstance of great beauty; and is a 40 Tue Art or Lanpscare GARDENING characteristic ornament of art, allowable in the finest inhabited scenes of nature. Wemsty. The park? at Wembly is only defective in two circumstances: the first is the common defect of all places where hedges have been recently removed and too many single trees are left; the natural reluctance felt by every man of taste and experience to cut down large trees, at the same time that he sees the unpleas- ant effect of artificial rows, is very apt to suggest the idea of breaking those rows by planting many young trees; and thus the whole composition becomes frittered into small parts, which are neither compatible with the ideas of the sublime nor beautiful. The masses of light and shade, whether in a natural landscape or a picture, must be broad and unbroken, or the eye will be dis- tracted by the flutter of the scene; and the mind will be rather employed in retracing the former lines of hedge- rows than in admiring the ample extent of lawn and continuity of wood which alone distinguishes the park from the grass- or dairy-farm. This defect will of course easily be remedied when the new plantations shall have acquired a few years’ growth, and many of the old trees shall be either taken down or blended into closer groups by young ones planted very near them: but there can be little occasion for dotting young trees with such profusion, and I do not hesitate to affirm that of several hundred such trees now scattered upon the lawn not more than twenty can be absolutely necessary. The other defect of Wembly arises from a sameness of objects; and this is a defect common to all the countries where the grass-land is more generally mowed than fed. It proves, what no landscape painter ever doubted, that a scene consisting of vegetable produc- tions only can seldom make a pleasing picture. The Larce PrivaTE PLAcgs 41 contrasted greens of wood and lawn are not sufficient to gratify the eye; it requires other objects, and those of different colours, such as rocks, water, and cattle; but where these natural objects cannot easily be had, the variety may be obtained by artificial means, such as a building, a tent, or a road; and, perhaps, there is no object more useful in such countries than a good- coloured gravel road, gracefully winding, and of course describing those gentle swells of the ground which are hardly perceptible from the uniform colour of grass- land. The approach-road to the house will be a feature on the lawn, both as seen from thence and also from the high ground about the park. Cattle might be more frequently introduced than seems to be the custom of this country, especially sheep, than which nothing con- tributes more to enliven a lawn and even to improve and fertilize its verdure; and though some objections may arise, from the nature of the soil, they are by no means insurmountable. CasTLe Hitt. A scene, however beautiful in itself, will soon lose its interest unless it is enlivened by moy- ing objects. [Plate v.] This may be effected by sunk fences; and from the shape of the ground, there is another material use in having cattle to feed the lawn before the windows. The eye forms a very inaccurate judgement of extent, unless there be some standard by which it can be measured; bushes and trees are of such various sizes that it is impossible to use them as a measure of distance ; but the size of a horse, a sheep, or a cow varies so little that we immediately judge of their distance from their apparent diminution, accord- ing to the distance at which they are placed; and as they occasionally change their situation, they break that surface over which the eye passes, without observ- 42 Tue Art or LanpscapE GARDENING ing it, to the first object it meets to rest upon. It has been objected to the slides with which I elucidate my proposed alterations that I generally introduce in the improved view boats on the water and cattle on the lawns. To this I answer that both are real objects of improvement, and give animation to the scene ; indeed it cannot be too often inculcated that a large lake with- out boats is a dreary waste of water, and a large lawn without cattle is one of the melancholy appendages of solitary grandeur observable in the pleasure-grounds of the past century. Wems ty. The expedient of producing variety at Wembly, by buildings, is perhaps the most difficult, and requires the greatest attention ; because one source of our admiration is that in the neighbourhood of the metropolis a place should exist so perfectly secluded and detached from the “busy haunts of men”: we must, therefore, be particularly cautious that every building should appear to be an appendage or inmate of the place, and not a neighbour intruding on its privacy. From hence arose some difficulty in the style of building proper for the prospect on the hill —a very small one would have been inadequate to the purpose of containing such companies as may resort thither, as well as forming a dwelling-house for those who should have the care of the prospect rooms and the dairy; yet in building a large house there was danger of mak- ing it appear to belong to some other person. To the common observer, the beauties of Wembly may appear to need no improvement; but it is the duty of my profession to discover how native charms may be heightened by the assistance of taste: and that even beauty itself may be rendered more beautiful, this place will furnish a striking example. Chapter VI Formal Gardening HERE is no part of my profession more difficult and troublesome than the attempt to modernise, in part only, those places which have been formerly decorated by the line and square of geometric taste. To explain this difficulty, I will briefly state the differ- ence between the principles on which improvements are now conducted and those which governed the style of former periods. The perfection of landscape gardening consists in the four following requisites: First, it must display the natural beauties and hide the natural defects of every situation. Secondly, it should give the appearance of extent and freedom, by carefully disguising or hiding the boundary. Thirdly, it must studiously conceal every interference of art, however expensive, by which the scenery is improved, making the whole appear the production of nature only; and, fourthly, all objects of mere convenience or comfort, if incapable of being made ornamental, or of becoming proper parts of the general scenery, must be removed or concealed. Con- venience and comfort, I confess, have occasionally misled modern improvers into the absurdity of not only banishing the appearance but the reality of all comfort and convenience to a distance; as I have frequently found in the bad choice of a spot for the kitchen-garden. Each of the four objects here enumerated is directly 44 Tue Art or LanpscapE GARDENING opposite to the principles of ancient gardening, which may thus be stated. First, the natural beauties or de- fects of a situation had no influence, when it was the fashion to exclude, by lofty walls, every surrounding object. Secondly, these walls were never considered as defects; but, on the contrary, were ornamented with vases, expensive iron gates, and palisades, to render them more conspicuous. Thirdly, so far from making gardens appear natural, every expedient was used to display the expensive efforts of art, by which nature had been subdued:—the ground was levelled by a line; the water was squared, or scollopped into regular basins ; the trees, if not clipped into artificial shape, were at least so planted by line and measurement that the formal hand of art could nowhere be mistaken. And, lastly, with respect to objects of convenience, they were placed as near the house as possible :— the stables, the barns, and the kitchen-garden were among the ornaments of a place; while the village, the alms- house, the parish school, and churchyard were not attempted to be concealed by the walls or palisades that divided them from the embellished pleasure-ground. LatHom. Congruity of style, uniformity of charac- ter, and harmony of parts with the whole are different modes of expressing that unity, without which no com- position can be perfect: yet there are few principles in gardening which seem to be so little understood. This essential unity has often been mistaken for symmetry, or the correspondence of similar parts; as where «« Grove nods at grove, each alley has a brother, And half the platform just reflects the other.’” Pope. Indeed, this symmetry in the works of art was perfectly justifiable under that style of gardening which confined, ForMAL GARDENING 45 within lofty walls, the narrow enclosure appropriated to ancient grandeur. When the whole design is meant to be surveyed at a single glance, the eye is assisted in its office by mak- ing its divisions counterparts of each other; and as it was confessedly the object of the artist to display his labour, and the greatness of the effort by which he had subdued nature, it could not possibly be more conspic- uous than in such shapes of land and water as were most unnatural and violent. Hence arose the flat terrace, the square and octagon pool, and all those geometric figures which were intended to contrast and not to assimilate with any scenes in nature. Yet within this small enclos- ure an unity of design was strictly preserved, and few attempts made to extend it farther than the garden wall. From the prodigious difference of taste in gardening betwixt the last and the present century, it seems, at first sight, almost impossible to lay down any fixed princi- ples; but, on duly considering the subject, it will be found that in this instance, as well as in many others, mankind are apt to fly from one extreme to the other; thus, because straight lines, and highly finished and cor- respondent parts prevailed in the ancient style, some modern improvers have mistaken crookedness for the line of beauty, and slovenly carelessness for natural ease ; they call every species of regularity formal, and, with the hackneyed assertion that “ nature abhors a straight line,” they fatigue the eye with continual curvatures. There appears to be in the human mind a natural love of order and symmetry. Children who at first draw a house upon a slate generally represent it with corre- spondent parts. It is so with the infancy of taste; those who, during the early part of life, have given little at- tention to objects of taste, are captivated with the reg- 46 Tue Art or LanpscapE GARDENING ularity and symmetry of correspondent parts, without any knowledge of congruity or a harmony of parts with thewhole. This accounts for those numerous specimens of bad taste which are too commonly observable in the neighbourhood of great towns, where we see Grecian villas spreading their little Gothic wings, and red-brick castles supported by Grecian pavilions; but though congruity may be banished, symmetry is never forgotten. If such be the love of symmetry in the human mind, it surely becomes a fair object of inquiry, how far it ought to be admitted or rejected in modern gardening. The following observation from Montesquieu, on Taste,*° seems to set the matter in a fair light: ““Wherever symmetry is useful to the soul, and may assist her functions, it is agreeable to her; but wherever it is useless, it becomes distasteful, because it takes away variety. Therefore, things that we see in succession ought to have variety, for our soul has no difficulty in seeing them; those, on the contrary, that we see at one glance, ought to have symmetry: thus, at one glance we see the front of a building, a parterre, a temple; in such things there is always a symmetry which pleases the soul by the facility it gives her of taking in the whole object at once.” It is upon this principle that I have frequently advised the most perfect symmetry in those small flower-gardens which are generally placed in the front of a greenhouse, or orangery, in some inner part of the grounds; where, being secluded from the general scenery, they become a kind of episode to the great and more conspicuous parts of the place. In such small enclosures irregularity would appear like affectation. Symmetry is also allowable, and indeed necessary, at or near the front of a regular building; because, where FormMAL GARDENING 47 that displays correspondent parts, if the lines in con- tact do not also correspond, the house itself will appear twisted and awry. Yet this degree of symmetry ought to go no farther than a small distance from the house, and should be confined merely to such objects as are confessedly works of art for the uses of man; such as a road, a walk, or an ornamental fence, whether of wood or iron; but it is not necessary that it should extend to plantations, canals, or over the natural shape of the ground. “In forming plans for embellishing a field, an artist without taste employs straight lines, cir- cles, and squares, because these look best upon paper. He perceives not that to humour and adorn nature is the perfection of his art; and that nature, neglecting regularity, distributes her objects in great variety, with a bold hand. (Some old gardens were disposed like the human frame; alleys, like legs and arms, answering each other; the great walk in the middle representing the trunk of the body.) Nature, indeed, in organised bodies comprehended under one view, studies regu- larity ; which, for the same reason, ought to be studied in architecture; but in large objects, which cannot be surveyed but in parts, and by succession, regularity and uniformity would be useless properties, because they cannot be discovered by the eye. Nature, therefore, in her large works, neglects these properties ; and in copy- ing nature, the artist ought to neglect them.” Latuom. It is hardly to be conceived how much this view to the north will be improved by the removal of the large square pond. [ Plate v1.] Water reflecting only the sky (which is the case with this and every other pond raised above the level of the natural ground) acts like a mass of light placed betwixt the eye and the more distant objects. Every one knows the effect that a lan- 48 Tue Art oF LAanpscape GARDENING tern or a torch has, to prevent our seeing what is be- yond it; and this same cause operates in all cases in proportion to the quantity of rays reflected, whether from water, from snow, from white paling, or any other luminous object. This accounts for the pleasure we derive from seeing water at a proper distance, and of a natural shape. Water is said to attract our notice with irresistible power; but the pond at Lathom, placed in the foreground, engrosses too much of the landscape, and is neither sufficiently pleasing in its shape nor natural in its situation to deserve the place it holds as the leading feature of the scene. The management of the view to the north will fur- ther serve to elucidate another general principle in gar- dening, viz. that although we do not require a strict symmetry in the two sides of the landscape, yet there is a certain balance of composition, without which the eye is not perfectly satisfied. The two screens of wood beyond the pond may be varied and contrasted ; that to the west may be left asa thick and impenetrable mass of trees and underwood, while a great part of that to the east should be converted into an open grove; thus destroying the formality, while the balance of composition may still be preserved. Chapter VII Approaches * HE road by which a stranger is supposed to pass through the park or lawn to the house is called an approach; and there seems the same relation betwixt the approach and the house externally that there is internally betwixt the hall or entrance and the several apartments to which it leads. If the hall be too large or too small, too mean or too much ornamented for the style of the house, there is a manifest incongruity in the architecture, by which good taste will be offended ; but if the hall be so situated as not to con- nect well with the several apartments to which it ought to lead, it will then be defective in point of conven- ience. So it is with respect to an approach :—it ought to be convenient, interesting, and in strict harmony with the character and situation of the mansion to which it belongs. There seems to be as much absurdity in carrying an approach round, to include those objects which do not naturally fall within its reach, as there was formerly in cutting through a hill, to obtain a straight line point- ing to the hall door. A line of red gravel across a lawn is apt to offend, by cutting it into parts, and destroy- ing the unity of verdure, so pleasing to the eye. But I have in some places seen the aversion of showing a road carried to such a length, that a gap has been dug in the lawn, by way of road; and, in order to hide it, 50 Tue Art or LAanpscarpeE GARDENING the approach to a palace must be made along a ditch. In other places, I have seen what is called a grass approach, which is a broad, hard road, thinly covered with bad verdure, or even moss, to hide it from the sight; and thus, in a dusky evening, after wandering about the park in search of a road, we suddenly find ourselves upon grass, at the door of the mansion, with- out any appearance of mortals ever having before approached its solitary entrance. Thus do improvers seem to have mistaken the most obvious meaning of an approach, which is simply this —a road to the house. If that road be greatly cir- cuitous, no one will use it when a much nearer is dis- covered: but if there be two roads of nearly the same length, and one be more beautiful than the other, the man of taste will certainly prefer it; while, perhaps, the clown, insensible to every object around him, will indifferently use either. The requisites to a good approach may be thus enumerated : First. An approach is a road to the house; and to that principally. Secondly. If it is not naturally the nearest road possible, it ought artificially to be made impossible to go a nearer. Thirdly. The artificial tieticles which make this road the nearest ought to appear natural. Fourthly. Where an approach quits the highroad, it ought not to break from it at right angles, or in such a manner as robs the entrance of importance; but rather at some bend of the public road, from whence a lodge, or gate, may be more conspicuous ; and where the highroad may appear to branch from the approach, rather than the approach from the highroad. APPROACHES GE Fifthly. After the approach enters the park, it should avoid skirting along its boundary, which betrays the want of extent or unity of property. Sixthly. The house, unless very large and magni- ficent, should not be seen at so great a distance as to make it appear much smaller than it really is. Seventhly. The house should be at first presented in a pleasing point of view. Fighthly. As soon as the house is visible from the approach, there should be no temptation to quit it — which will ever be the case if the road be at all cir- cuitous — unless sufficient obstacles, such as water or inaccessible ground, appear to justify its course. I shall not here speak of the convenience or incon- venience of a large town situated very near a park, but of the influence that the proximity of a large town has on the character of a park, which is very considerable, because it must either serve to increase or to diminish its importance; the latter is at present the case with respect to Tatton and Knutsford. The first essential of greatness in a place is the ap- pearance of united and uninterrupted property, and it is in vain that this is studied within the pale, if it is too visibly contradicted without it. It is not to be ex- pected that a large manufacturing town, like Knutsford, can be the entire property of one individual; but the proportion of interest belonging to the adjoining family should impress the mind with a sense of its influence. There are various ways by which this effect is occasionally produced, and I will mention some of them, viz. the church and churchyard may be deco- rated in a style that shall in some degree correspond with that of the mansion;—the market-house, or ne ee 52 Tue Art or Lanpscape GARDENING a other public edifice, an obelisk, or even a mere stone, with distances, may be made an ornament to the town, and bear the arms of the family ; or the same arms may be the sign of the principal inn of the place. Chapter VIII Affinity betwixt Painting and Gardening T has already been remarked in this volume that there ought to be some difference betwixt a park and a forest; and as the whole of that false and mis- taken theory, which Mr. Knight endeavours to intro- duce by confounding the two ideas, proceeds from not duly considering the degree of affinity betwixt painting and gardening, I shall transcribe a few passages from manuscripts, written long before I saw his poem; although the inquiry was originally suggested by con- versations I have occasionally had, both with Mr. Knight and Mr. Price, at their respective seats in the county of Hereford. A great difference betwixt a scene in nature and a picture on canvas will arise from the following consid- erations: First. The spot from whence the view is taken is in a fixed state to the painter, but the gardener surveys his scenery while in motion, and from different windows in the same front he sees objects in different situations ; therefore, to give an accurate portrait of the gardener’s improvement would require pictures from each separ- ate window, and even a different drawing at the most trifling change of situation, either in the approach, the walks, or the drives, about each place. Secondly. The quantity of view, or field of vision, is much greater than any picture will admit. Thirdly. The view from an eminence down a steep 54 Tue Art oF LanpscaPpE GARDENING hill is not to be represented in painting, although it is often one of the most pleasing circumstances of natural landscape. Fourthly. The light which the painter may bring from any point of the compass must, in real scenery, depend on the time of day. It must also be remem- bered that the light of a picture can only be made strong by contrast of shade; while in nature every ob- ject may be strongly illumined without destroying the composition or disturbing the keeping. And, Lastly. The foreground, which, by framing the view, is absolutely necessary to the picture, is often totally deficient, or seldom such as a painter chooses to repre- sent; since the neat gravel walk or close-mown lawn would ill supply the place, in painting, of a rotten tree, a bunch of docks, or a broken road, passing under a steep bank, covered with briers, nettles, and ragged thorns. Real landscape, or that which my art professes to improve, is not always capable of being represented on paper or canvas; for although the rules for good nat- ural landscape may be found in the best painters’ works, in which « ¥ ' A , tel F 4 ' Tae i, . ty “ “ Mae ’ ] Ps By : Fr. it fat P R 4 ) é * * ‘ y ~ ( a 5% ; ¢ d r | Ww bs Te) é Ne ‘ s . * v5 : ° ° | : " ° ' / "Ol Wa tr ‘ a cal , ’ + 1 7 ‘ f x x , ‘ im ‘ . ¢ . U ‘ i 3 ; ay re - 5 r 4 ' ‘ i t ) ¢ ' ‘ _ (Pes. see Chapter III W ater —Its General Treatment —_Art must deceive to imitate Nature —W ater at Wentworth described — A River easter to imitate than a Lake HE observations in the preceding chapter concern- ing the reflection of sky on the surface of water will account for that brilliant and cheerful effect produced by asmall pool, frequently placed near a house, although in direct violation of nature: for since the ground ought to slope and generally does slope from a house, the water very near it must be on the side of a hill, and of course artificial. Although I have never proposed a piece of water to be made in such a situation, I have frequently advised that small pools so unnaturally placed should be retained, in compliance with that general satisfaction which the eye derives from the glitter of water, however absurd its situation. It requires a degree of refinement in taste bordering on fastidiousness to remove what is cheerful and pleas- ing to the eye, merely because it cannot be accounted for by the common laws of nature; I was, however, not sorry to discover some plea for my compliance, by con- sidering that although water on a hill is generally deemed unnatural, yet all rivers derive their sources from hills, and the highest mountains are known'to have lakes or pools of water near their summits. We object, therefore, not so much to the actual situa- tion as to the artificial management of such water. We 92 Tue Art oF Lanpscare GARDENING long to break down the mound of earth by which the water is confined, although we might afterwards regret the loss of its cheerful glitter ; and hence, perhaps, arises that baldness in artificial pools, so disgusting to the painter and yet so pleasing to the less accurate observer. The latter delights in a broad expanse of light on the smooth surface, reflecting a brilliant sky; the former expects to find that surface ruffled by the winds, or the glare of light in parts obscured by the reflection of trees from the banks of the water; and thus, while the painter requires a picture, the less scientific observer will be satisfied with a mirror. During a great part of last century West Wycombe was deemed a garden of such finished beauty that to those who formerly remembered the place it will seem absurd to suggest any improvement. But time will equally extend its changing influence to the works of nature and to those of art, since the planter has to con- tend with a power — «« A hidden power! at once his friend and foe! ’T is Vegetation! Gradual to his groves She gives their wished effects, and that displayed, O! that her power would pause ; but, active still, She swells each stem, prolongs each vagrant bough, And darts, with unremitting vigour bold, From grace to wild luxuriance.’’ Mason. Thus, at West Wycombe, those treesand shrubs which were once its greatest ornament, have nowso far outgrown their situation that the whole character of the place is altered; and instead of that gaiety and cheerfulness inspired by flowering shrubs and young trees, gloom and melancholy seem to have reared their standard in the branches of the tallest elms and to shed their influence on every surrounding object: on the house, by lessen- THEORY AND PRACTICE 93 ing its importance; on the water, by darkening its sur- face; and on the lawn, by lengthened shadows. The prodigious height of the trees near the house has not merely affected the character, but also the very situation of the house. Instead of appearing to stand on a dry bank, considerably above the water (as it actually does), the house oppressed by the neighbouring trees became damp, and appeared to have been placed in a gloomy bottom, while the water was hardly visible, from the dark reflection of the trees on its surface, and the views of the distant hills were totally concealed from the house. It is a fortunate circumstance for the possessor, where improvement can be made rather by cutting down than by planting trees. The effect is instantly produced, and as the change in the scenery at this place has actually been realised before I could make a sketch to explain its necessity, the following drawing serves to record my reason for so boldly advising the use of the axe. I am well aware that my advice may subject me to the criticism of some, who will regret the loss of old trees, which, like old acquaintances, excite a degree of veneration, even when their age and infirmity have rendered them useless, perhaps offens- ive, to all but their youthful associates. The tedious process of rearing and planting woods and the dread- ful havoc too often made by injudiciously felling large trees ought certainly to inspire caution and diffidence; but there is in reality no more temerity in marking the trees to be taken down than those to be planted, and I trust there has not been a single tree displaced at West Wycombe, which has not tended to improve the healthfulness, the magnificence, and the beauty of the place. 94 Tue Art or Lanpscarrt GARDENING Most of the principal rooms having a north aspect, the landscape requires peculiar management not gener- ally understood. Lawn, wood, and water are always seen to the greatest advantage with the sun behind them, because the full glare of light between opposite trees destroys the contrast of wood and lawn; while water never looks so brilliant and cheerful when reflect- ing the northern as the southern sky. A view, there- fore, to the north would be dull and uninteresting without some artificial objects, such as boats or build- ings, or distant corn-fields, to receive the opposite beams of the sun. A sketch shewed the effect of tak- ing down trees to admit the distant woods, and by removing those on the island, and of course their reflection, the water became more conspicuous; in addition, the proposed road of approach, with car- riages occasionally passing near the banks of the lake, will give animation to the view from the saloon. The views of West Wycombe, being taken from the proposed approach, I shall here beg leave to make a short digression, explaining my reasons for that line, founded on some general principles respecting an ap- proach, although it has no other reference to the water than as it justifies its course in passing the house to arrive at its object. If the display of magnificent or of picturesque scenery in a park be made without ostentation, it can be no more at variance with good taste than the display of superior affluence in the houses, the equipage, the furniture, or the habiliments of wealthy individuals. It will, therefore, I trust, sufficiently justify the line of approach here proposed, to say that it passes through the most interesting parts of the grounds, and will dis- play the scenery of the place to the greatest advantage, THEORY AND PRACTICE 95 without making any violent or unnecessary circuit to include objects that do not naturally come within its reach. This I deem to be a just and sufficient motive, and an allowable display of property without ostentation. The former approach to the house was on the south side of the valley, and objectionable for two reasons: Ist, it ascended the hill, and, after passing around the whole of the buildings, it descended to the house, mak- it appear to stand low; 2d, by going along the side of the hill, little of the park was shewn, although the “road actually passed through it, because, on an inclined plane, the ground which either rises on one side or falls on the other, becomes foreshortened and little observed, while the eye is directed to the opposite side of the valley, which in this instance consisted of enclos- ures beyond the park. On the contrary, the proposed new approach, being on the north side of the valley, will shew the park on the opposite bank to advantage, and, by ascending to the house, it will appear in its true and desirable situation upon a sufficient eminence above the water: yet, backed by still higher ground, richly clothed with wood, this view of the house will also serve to explain and, I hope, to justify the sacri- fice of those large trees which have been cut down upon the island, and whose dark shadows, being re- flected on the water, excluded all cheerfulness. The water at West Wycombe, from the brilliancy of its colour, the varieties of its shores, the different courses of its channel, and the number of its wooded islands, possessed a degree of pleasing intricacy which I have rarely seen in artificial pools or rivers; there appears to be only one improvement necessary to give it all the variety of which it is capable. The glassy sur- face of a still, calm lake, however delightful, is not more 96 Tue Art or LanpscarE GARDENING interesting than the lively brook rippling over a rocky bed, but when the latter is compared with a narrow stagnant creek, it must have a decided preference; and as this advantage might easily be obtained in view of the house, I think it ought not to be neglected. It may perhaps be objected that to introduce rock scenery in this place would be unnatural; but if this arti- fice be properly executed, no eye can discover the illu- sion, and it is only by such deceptions that art can imitate the most pleasing works of nature. By the help of such illusion we may see the interesting struggles of the babbling brook, which soon after — ‘« spreads Into a liquid plain, then stands unmov’d, Pure as the expanse of heaven.”’ This idea has been realised in the scenery at Adle- strop, where a small pool, very near the house, was sup- plied by a copious spring of clear water. The cheerful glitter of this little mirror, although on the top of the hill, gave pleasure to those who had never considered how much it lessened the place, by attracting the eye and preventing its range over the lawnand falling ground beyond. This pool has now been removed; a lively stream of water has been led through a flower-garden, where its progress down the hill is occasionally ob- structed by ledges of rocks, and after a variety of inter- esting circumstances it falls into a lake at a considerable distance, but in full view both of the mansion and the parsonage, to each of which it makes a delightful, be- cause a natural, feature in the landscape. Few persons have seen the formal cascade at Thoresby in front of the house and heard its solemn roar, without wishing to retain a feature which would be one of the THEORY AND PRACTICE 97 most interesting scenes in nature, if it could be divested of its disgusting and artificial formality; but this can only be effected by an equally violent, though less ap- parent, interference of art; because, without absolutely copying any particular scene in nature, we must en- deavour to imitate the causes by which she produces her effects, and the effects will be natural. The general cause of a natural lake or expanse of water is an obstruction to the current of a stream by some ledge or stratum of rock which it cannot penetrate; ‘but as soon as the water has risen to the surface of this rock, it tumbles over with great fury, wearing itself a channel among the craggy fragments, and generally forming an ample basin at its foot. Such is the scenery we must attempt to imitate at Thoresby. Having condemned the ill-judged interference of art in the disposition of the ground and water at Thoresby, it may, perhaps, be objected, that I now recommend an artificial management not less extravagant, because I presume to introduce some appearance of rock scenery in a soil where no rock naturally exists; but the same objection might be made with equal propriety to the in- troduction of an artificial lake in a scene where no lake before existed. When under the guidance of Le Notre and his disciples, the taste for geometric gardening pre- vailed, nature was totally banished or concealed by the works of art. Now, in defining the shape of land or water, we take nature for our model; and the highest perfection of landscape gardening is to imitate nature so judiciously that the interference of art shall never be detected. | A rapid stream, violently agitated, is one of the most interesting objects in nature. Yet this can seldom be enjoyed except in a rocky country; since the more im- 98 Tue Art or LAnpscapE GARDENING petuous the stream, the sooner will it be buried within its banks, unless they are of such materials as can resist its fury. To imitate this natural effect, therefore, in a soil like that of Thoresby, we must either force the stream above its level and deprive it of natural motion, or in- troduce a foundation of stones disposed in such a man- ner as to appear the rocky channel of the mountain stream. The former has been already done in forming the lake, and the latter has been attempted, according to the fashion of geometric gardening, in the regular cascade, where a great body of water was led under- ground from the lake to move downstairs, into a scal- loped basin, between two bridges immediately in front of the house. The violence done to nature by the introduction of rock scenery at Thoresby is the more allowable, since it is within a short distance of Derbyshire, the most romantic county in England; while, from the awful and picturesque scenery of Creswell Crags, such strata and ledges of stone, covered with their natural vegeta- tion, may be transported thither, that no eye can discover the fraud. It is scarcely possible for any admirer of nature to be more enthusiastically fond of her romantic scenery than myself; but her wildest features are seldom within the common range of man’s habitation. The rugged paths of alpine regions will not be daily trodden by the foot of affluence, nor will the thundering cataracts of Niagara seduce the votaries of pleasure frequently to visit their wonders ; it is only by a pleasing illusion that we can avail ourselves of those means which nature herself furnishes, even in tame scenery, to imitate her bolder effects ; and to this illusion, if well conducted, the eye of genuine taste will not refuse its assent. THEORY AND PRACTICE 99 “Ta Nature fuit les lieux fréquentés; c’est au som- met des montagnes, au fond des foréts, dans les isles désertes, qu’elle étale ses charmes les plus touchants ; ceux qui l’aiment et ne peuvent |’aller chercher si loin, sont réduits a lui faire violence, et a la forcer en quelque sorte a venir habiter parmi eux, et tout cela ne peut se faire sans un peu d’illusion.”— J. J. Rousseau. [Nature flies from frequented places; it is on the summit of mountains, in the depths of forests, and in desert islands that she displays her most affecting “charms ; those who love her, and who cannot go so far in search of her, are reduced to the necessity of con- straining her, and forcing her to take up her habitation among them; but this cannot be done without a certain degree of illusion. | One of the views from the house at Thoresby looked towards «« the long line Deep delv’d of flat canal, and all that toil, Misled by tasteless fashion, could achieve, To mar fair Nature’s lineaments divine.’’ Mason. As, in this instance, I shall have occasion to propose a different idea to that suggested by Mr. Brown, I must beg leave to explain the reasons on which I ground my opinion. Amidst the numerous proofs of taste and judgement which that celebrated landscape gardener has left for our admiration, he frequently mistook the character of running water; he was too apt to check its pro- gress, by converting a lively river into a stagnant pool, nay, he even dared to check the progress of the furious Derwent at Chatsworth, and transform it into a tame and sleepy river unworthy the majesty L, UF 100 Tue Art or LAanpscarpe GARDENING of that palace of the mountains. Such was his inten- tion with respect to the stream of water which flows through Thoresby Park; but since the lake presents a magnificent expanse of water, the river below the cascade should be restored to its natural character: a rivulet in motion. At Wentworth, although the quantity of water is very considerable, yet it is so disposed as to be little seen from the present approach, and when it is crossed in the drive on the head between two pools, the arti- ficial management destroys much of its effect: they appear to be several distinct ponds, and not the series of lakes which nature produces in a mountainous coun- try. But the character of this water should rather imitate one large river than several small lakes; espe- cially as it is much easier to produce the appearance of continuity than of such vast expanse as a lake requires. The following sketch [Plate 1x] is a view of the scenery presenting itself under the branches of trees, which act as a frame to the landscape. To preserve the idea of a river, nothing is so effect- ual as a bridge; instead of dividing the water on each side, it always tends to lengthen its continuity by shew- ing the impossibility of crossing it by any other means, provided the ends are well concealed, which is fortun- ately the case with respect to this water. Although the upper side of the bridge would be very little seen, because the banks are everywhere planted, yet, as the bridge would not bemore than fifty yards long, it would be more in character with the greatness of the place to have such a bridge as would nowhere appear a decep- tion, and in this case the different levels of the water (being only five feet) would never be discovered. "THEORY AND PRACTICE IOI The rippling motion of water is a circumstance to which improvers have seldom paid sufficient attention. They generally aim at a broad expanse and depth, not considering that a narrow shallow brook in motion over a gravelly bottom is not less an object of beauty and worthy of imitation; the deep dell betwixt the boat- house and the bridge might be rendered very interesting by bringing a lively brook along the valley; the em- bouchure of this brook should be laid with gravel, to induce cattle to form themselves in groups at the edge of the water, which is one of the most pleasing circum- stances of natural landscape. It sometimes happens, near large rivers, that a clear spring bubbles from a fountain, and pours its waters rapidly into the neigh- bouring stream ; this is always considered a delightful object in nature, yet I do not recollect it has ever been imitated by art. It would be very easy to produce it in this instance by leading water in a channel from the upper pool, and after passing underground by tubes for a few yards, let it suddenly burst through a bed of sand and stones, and being thus filtered by ascent, it would ripple along the valley till it joined the great water. Milton was aware of this contrast betwixt the river and the rill, where he mentions, amongst the scenery of his Allegro, «¢ Shallow brooks and rivers wide.’’ Where two pieces of water are at some distance from each other, and of such different levels that they cannot easily be made to unite in one sheet, if there be a sufficient supply to furnish a continual stream, or only an occasional redundance in winter, the most picturesque mode of uniting the two is by imitating a common process of nature in mountainous countries, 102 Tue ArT or LANDscAPE GARDENING where we often see the water, in its progress from one lake to another, dashing among broken fragments or gently gliding over ledges of rock which form the bottom of the channel. This may be accomplished at Harewood, where the most beautiful stone is easily procured, but in disposing the ledges of rock, they should not be laid horizontally, but with the same slanting inclination that is observed, more or less, in the bed of the neighbouring river. JSo1O,J POOMISYS "KX ILVTg sivag ‘AA ‘LL Aq paydesdojoyd Chapter IV Planting — Immediate and Future Effect — Clumps — Groups — Masses —The Browsing-Line de- scribed — Combination of Masses to produce Great Woods — Character and Shape of Ground to be studied — Outline of New Plantations HE following observations on planting are not intended to pursue the minute detail so copiously and scientifically described in Evelyn’s “ Sylva,” and so frequently quoted, or rather repeated from him, in modern publications; I shall merely consider it as a relative subject : and being one of the chief ornaments in landscape gardening when skilfully appropriated, I shall divide it into two distinct heads: the first includ- ing those single trees or groups which may be planted of a larger size to produce present effect ; the second comprehending those masses of plantations destined to become woods or groves for future generations. Since few of the practical followers of Mr. Brown possessed that force of genius which rendered him, according to Mason, << the living leader of thy powers, Great Nature,’’ it is no wonder that they should have occasionally copied the means he used, without considering the effect which he intended to produce. Thus Brown has been treated with ridicule by the contemptuous observation that all his improvements consisted in belting, clumping, and 104 Tue Art oF LanpscapE GARDENING dotting. But I conceive the two latter ought rather to be considered as cause and effect than as two distinct ideas of improvement, for the disagreeable and artificial appearance of young trees, when protected by what is called acradle fence, together with the difficulty of making them grow thus exposed to the wind, induced Mr. Brown to form small clumps fenced round, containing a number of trees calculated to shelter each other and to promote the growth of those few which might be ultimately destined to remain and form a group. This I apprehend was the origin and intention of those clumps, and that they never were designed as ornaments in themselves, but as the most efficacious and least dis- gusting manner of producing single trees and groups to vary the surface of a lawn, and break its uniformity by light and shadow. In some situations, where great masses of wood and a large expanse of open lawn prevail, the contrast is too violent, and the mind becomes dissatisfied by the want of unity. Weare never well pleased with a composition in natural landscape, unless the wood and lawn are so blended that the eye cannot trace the precise limits of either, yet it is necessary that each should preserve its original character in broad masses of light and shadow; for although a large wood may be occasionally relieved by clearing small openings to break the heaviness of the mass, or vary the formality of its outline, yet the general character of shade must not be destroyed. In like manner the too great expanse of light on a lawn must be broken and diversified by occasional shadow, but if too many trees be introduced for this purpose, the effect becomes frittered, and the eye is offended by a deficiency of composition, or, as the painter would express it, of a due breadth of light and THEORY AND PRACTICE 105 shade. Now it is obvious that, in newly formed places, such a redundance of trees will generally remain from former hedge-rows that there can seldom be occasion to increase the number of single trees, though it will often be advisable to combine them into proper groups. It is a mistaken idea, scarcely worthy of notice, that the beauty of a group of trees consists in odd numbers, such as five, seven, or nine; a conceit which I have known to be seriously ausctied. I should rather pro- nounce that no group of trees can be natural in which the plants are studiously placed at equal distances, how- Fig. 13. Artificial Scenery. ‘ ever irregular in their forms. Those pleasing combina- tions of trees which weadmire in forest scenery will often be found to consist of forked trees, or at least of trees placed so near each other that the branches intermix, and by a natural effort of vegetation the stems of the trees themselvesare forced from that perpendicular direc- tion which is always observable intrees planted at regular distances from each other. No groups will therefore appear natural unless two or more trees are planted very near each other,*' whilst the perfection of agroup consists 106 Tue Art or LAnpscare GARDENING in the combination of trees of different age, size, and character. The two sketches annexed exemplify this remark ; the first [Fig. 13] represents a few young trees protected Fig. 14. Natural Scenery. by cradles, and though some of them appear nearer to- gether than others, it arises from their being seen in per- spective, for | suppose them to be planted (as they usually are) at nearly equal distances. In the same landscape I have supposed the same trees grown to a considerable size, but from their equi-distance the stems are all parallel to each other, and not like the group in Fig. 14, where being planted much nearer, the trees naturally recede from each other. A few low bushes or thorns produce the kind of group in the second sketch [Fig. 14], con- sisting of trees and bushes of various growth. It may be observed that the single tree, and every part of the first sketch, is evidently artificial, and that the second one is natural, and like the groups in a forest. Another source of variety may be produced by such opaque masses of spinous plants as protect themselves from cattle; thus stems of trees seen against lawn or water THEORY AND PRACTICE 107 are comparatively dark, whilethose contrasted witha back- ground of wood appear light. This difference is shewn in both these sketches: the stems of the trees a a appear light, and those at 4 4 are dark, merely from the power of contrast, although both are exposed to the same de- gree of light. Where a large tract of waste heath or common is near the boundary of a park, if it cannot be enclosed, it is usual to dot certain small patches of trees upon it, with an idea of improvement; afewclumps of miserable Scotch firs, surrounded by a mud wall, are scattered over a great plain, which the modern improver calls “ clumping the common.” It is thus that Hounslow Heath has been clumped ; and even the vast range of country formerly the Forest of Sherwood has submitted to this meagre kind of misnamed ornament. It may appear unaccountable that these examples, which have not the least beauty either of nature or art to recommend them, should be so generally followed ; but alteration is frequently mistaken for improvement, and two or three clumps of trees, however bad in them- selves, will change the plain surface of a flat common. This I suppose has been the cause of planting some spruce firs on Maiden Early Common, which fortunately do not grow; for if they succeeded, the contrast is so violent between the wild surface of a heathand the spruce appearance of firs that they would be misplaced: besides, the spiral firs are seldom beautiful, except when their lower branches sweep upon the ground, and this could never be the case with those exposed to cattle on a common. A far better method of planting waste land, where en- closures are not permitted, has been adopted with great success in Norfolk, by my much valued friend the late 108 Tue Art or LANpscarpE GARDENING Robert Marsham, E'sq., of Stratton. Instead of firs sur- rounded by a mud bank, he placed deciduous trees of every kind, but especially birch, intermixed with thorns, crabs, and old hollies, cutting off their heads and all their branches about eight feet from the ground: these are planted in a puddle and the earth laid round their roots in small hillocks, which prevent the cattle from standing very near to rub them ; and thus I have seen groups of trees which looked like bare poles the first year, in a very short time become beautiful ornaments to a dreary waste. Mr. Gilpin, in his “ Forest Scenery,” has given some specimens of the outlines of a wood, one of which is not unlike that beautiful screen which bounds the park to the north of Milton Abbey, and which the first of the an- nexed sketches [Plate x1] more accurately represents. We have here a very pleasing and varied line formed by the tops of trees, but, from the distance at which they are viewed, they seem to stand on one straight base-line, although many of the trees are separated from the others by a considerable distance: the upper out- line of this screen is so happily varied that the eye is not offended by the straight line at its base. But there is another line which 1s apt to create disgust in flat situ- ations, and for this reason —all trees unprotected from cattle will be stripped of their foliage to a certain height, and where the surface of the ground is perfectly flat and forms one straight line, the stems of trees thus brought to view by the browsing of cattle will present another straight line parallel to the ground, at about six feet high, which I shall call the browsing-line. Whether trees be planted near the eye or ata distance from it, and whether they be very young plants or of the 2a eagle a ae * SERS S/N SS R Yee tia) & : a4 wes + Ls fa) SN : HE C3y2 SI 8) Puate XIII. Map of Bulstrode ‘THEORY AND PRACTICE 121 variety for such a drive appropriated to pleasure only ; but this is introduced as an archetype or example, from whence certain principles are reduced to practice. Some of my observations, in the course of this description, may appear to have been anticipated by Mr. Whateley, and if | may occasionally deliver them as my own sentiments, I hope the coincidence in opinion with so respectable a theorist will not subject me to the imputation of plagiarism.” _ Heathfield Park is one of those subjects from whence my art can derive little credit : the world is too apt to mistake alteration for improvement, and to applaud every change, although no higher beauty is produced. The character of this park is strictly in harmony with its situation ; both are splendid and magnificent; yet a degree of elegance and beauty prevails, which is rarely to be found where greatness of character and loftiness of situation are predominant, because magnificence is not always united with convenience, nor extent of prospects with interesting and beautiful scenery. The power of art can have but little influence in increasing the natural advantages of Heathfield Park. It is the duty of the improver to avail himself of those beauties which nature has profusely scattered, and by leading the stranger to the most pleasing stations, to call his attention to those objects which, from their variety, novelty, contrast, or combination, are most likely to interest and delight the mind. On this foundation ought to be built the future improvement of Heathfield Park; not by doing violence to its native genius, but by sedulously studying its true character and situation: certain roads, walks, or drives may collect the scattered beauties of the place, and con- nect them with each other in lines, easy, natural, and graceful. 122 Tue ArT oFr LANDSCAPE GARDENING A common error, by which modern improvers are apt to be misled, arises from the mistake so often made by adopting extent for beauty. Thus the longest circuit is frequently preferred to that which is most interesting ; not indeed by the visitors, but by the fancied improver of a place. This, I apprehend, was the origin, and is always the tedious effect, of what iscalleda Belt; through which the stranger is conducted, that he may enjoy the drive, not by any striking points of view or variety of scenery, but by the number of miles over which he has traced its course, and instead of leading to those objects which are most worthy our attention, it is too common to find the drive a mere track round the utmost verge of the park; and if any pleasing features excite our notice, they arise rather from chance than design. To avoid this popular error, therefore, I shall en- deavour to avail myself of natural beauties in this drive, without any unnecessary circuit calculated to surprise by itsextent. I shallrather select those points of view which are best contrasted with each other, or which discover new features, or the same under different circumstances of foreground ; beguiling the length of the way by asuc- cession of new and pleasing objects. If thecircuitous drive round a place becomes tedious by its monotony, we must equally avoid too great same- ness or confinement in any road which is to be made a path of pleasure: a short branch from the principal drive, although it meets it again at a little distance, relieves the mind by its variety and stimulates by a choice between - two different objects ; but we must cautiously avoid con- fusion, lest we cut a wood into a labyrinth. The princi- pal road at Heathfield leads towards the tower, the other is no less interesting where it bursts out on one of those magnificent landscapes so pleasing in nature, yet so diffi- THEORY AND PRACTICE 123 cult to be represented in painting; because quantity and variety are apt to destroy that unity of composition which is expected in an artificial landscape: for it is hardly pos- sible to convey an adequate and distinct idea of those numerous objects so wonderfully combined in this ex- tensive view; the house, the church, the lawns, the woods, the bold promontory of Beachy Head, and the distant plains bounded by the sea, areall collected in one splendid picture, without being crowded into confusion. » This view is a perfect landscape, while that from the tower is rather a prospect.. It is of such a nature as not to be well represented by painting, because its excellence depends upon a state of the atmosphere which is very hostile to the painter’s art. Anextensive prospect is most admired when the distant objects are most clear and dis- tinct ; but the painter can represent his distances only by a certain haziness and indistinctness, which is termed aerial perspective. In the woodland counties, such as Hertfordshire, Herefordshire, Hampshire, etc., it often happens that the most beautiful places may rather be formed by felling than by planting trees ; but the effect will be very dif- ferent, whether the axe be committed to the hand of genius or the power of avarice. The land steward, or the timber-merchant, would mark those trees which have acquired their full growth and are fit for immediate use, or separate those which he deems to stand too near to- gether, but the man of science and of taste will search with scrutinising care for groups and combinations, such as his memory recalls in the pictures of the best mas- ters ; these groups he will studiously leave in such places as will best display their varied or combined forms. He will also discover beauties ina tree which the others would 124 Tue Art or Lanpscape GaRDENING condemn for its decay ; he will rejoice when he finds two trees whose stems have long grown so near each other that their branches are become interwoven ; he will ex- amine the outline formed by the combined foliage of many trees thus collected in groups,and removing others near them, he will give ample space for their picturesque effect. Sometimes he will discover an aged thorn or maple at the foot of a venerable oak; these he will respect, not only for their antiquity, being perhaps coeval with the father of the forest, but knowing that the importance of the oak is comparatively increased by the neighbouring situation of these subordinate objects; this will some- times happen when young trees grow near old ones, as when a light airy ash appears to rise from the same root with an oak oran elm. These are all circumstances dependent on the sportive accidents of nature; but even where art has interfered, where the long and formal line of a majestic avenue shall be submitted to his decision, the man of taste will pause, and not always break their venerable ranks, for his hand is not guided by the lev- elling principles or sudden innovations of modern fash- ion ; he will reverence the glory of former ages, while he cherishes and admires the ornament of the present, nor will he neglect to foster and protect the tender sap- ling, which promises, with improving beauty, to spread a grateful shade for future ‘‘ tenants of the soil.” Togive, however, such general rules for thinning woods as might be understood by those who have never atten- tively and scientifically considered the subject would be iike attempting to direct a man whohad never used a pen- cil, to imitate the groups of a Claude or a Poussin.” On this head I have frequently found my instructions opposed and my reasons unintelligible to those who look at a wood as an object of gain; and for this reason I am THEORY AND PRACTICE 125 not sorry to have discovered some arguments in favour of my system, of more weight, perhaps, than those which relate to mere taste and beauty : these I shall beg leave to mention, not as the foundation on which my opinion is built, but as collateral props to satisfy those who re- quire such support. tst. When two or more trees have long grown very near each other, the branches form themselves into one mass, or head ; and if any part be removed, the remaining trees will be more exposed to the power of the wind, by being heavier on one side, having lost their balance. 2d. If trees have long grown very near together, it will be impossible to take up the roots of one without injuring those of another. And lastly, although trees at equal distances may grow more erect and furnish planks for the use of the navy, yet not less valuable to the shipbuilder are those naturally crooked branches, or knees, which support the decks or form the ribs, and which are always most likely to be produced from the outside trees of woods or the fan- tastic forms which arise from two or more trees having grown very near each other in the same wood, or in hedge-rows. It is therefore not inconsistent with the considerations of profit as well as picturesque effect to plant or to leave trees very near each other, and not to thin them in the usual manner without caution. In some places belonging to ancient noble families, it is not uncommonto see woods of vast extent intersected by vistas and glades in many directions ; this is particu- larly the case at Burley and at Cashiobury. It is the property of a straight glade or vista to lead the eye to the extremity of a wood, without attracting the attention to its depth. I have occasionally been required to fell great quan- tities of timber, from other motives than merely to 126 Tue ArT oF LANpDscAPE GARDENING improve the landscape, and in some instances this work of necessity has produced the most fortunate improve- ments. I do not hesitate to say that some woods might be increased fivefold in apparent quantity, by taking away a prodigious number of trees, which are really lost to view ; but unless such necessity existed, there is more difficulty and temerity in suggesting improvement by cutting down, however profitable, and however suddenly the effect is produced, than by planting, though the latter be tedious and expensive. I have seldom found great opposition to my hints for planting, but to cutting down trees innumerable obstacles present themselves ; as if, unmindful of their value and heedless of their slow growth, I should advise a military abatis, or one general sweep, denuding the face of a whole country. What I should advise, both at Burley and at Cashiobury, would be to open some large areas within the woods, to produce a spacious internal lawn of intricate shape and irregular surface, preserving a sufh- cient number of detached trees or groups to continue the general effect of one great mass of wood. Chapter VI Fences — The Boundary — The Separation HAT the boundary-fence of a place should be con- cealed from the house is among the few general principles admitted in modern gardening ; but even in this instance, want of precision has led to error. The necessary distinction is seldom made between the fence which encloses a park and those fences which are adapted to separate and protect the subdivisions within such en- closure. For the concealment of the boundary various methods have been adopted, on which I shall make some observations. 1. A plantation is certainly the best expedient for hiding the pales; but in some cases it will also hide more than is required. And in all cases, if a plantation sur- round a place in the manner commonly practised under the name of a belt, it becomes a boundary scarce less offensive than the pale itself. The mind feels a certain disgust under a sense of confinement in any situation, however beautiful; as Dr. Johnson has forcibly illus- trated, in describing the feeling of Rasselas in the happy valley of Abyssinia. 2. A second method of concealing a fence is by making it of such light materials as to render it nearly invisible; such are fences made of slender iron and wire painted green. 3. A third method is sinking the fence below the surface of the ground, by which means the view is not impeded and the continuity of lawn is well preserved. 128 Tue Art or LAnpscarPe GARDENING Where this sunk fence or fosse is adopted, the deception ought to be complete, but this cannot be where grass- and corn-lands are divided by such a fence. If it is used betwixt one lawn and another, the mind acquiesces in ' the fraud even after it is discovered, so long as the fence itself does not obtrude on the sight. We must therefore ' so dispose a fosse or ha! ha! that we may look across it and not along it. For this reason a sunk fence must be straight and not curving, and it should be short, else the imaginary freedom is dearly bought by the actual confinement, since nothing is so difficult to pass as a deep sunk fence. 4. A fourth expedient I have occasionally adopted, and which (if I may use the expression) is a more bold deception than a sunk fence, viz. a light hurdle instead of paling; the one we are always used to consider as a fixed and immoveable fence at the boundary of a park or lawn; the other only as an occasional division of one part from the other. It is a temporary inconvenience, and not a permanent confinement. _ It is often necessary to adopt all these expedients in the boundaries and subdivisions of parks ; but the dis- gust excited at seeing a fence may be indulged too far, if in all cases we are to endeavour at concealment, and therefore the various situations and purposes of different sorts of fences deserve consideration. However we may admire natural beauties, we ought always to recollect that, without some degree of art and management it is impossible to prevent the injury which vegetation itself will occasion: the smooth bowling-green may be covered by weeds in a month, while the pastured ground preserves its neatness throughout the year. There is no medium between the keeping of art and of nature. It must be either one or the other, art or nature; that is, THEORY AND PRACTICE 129 either mowed, or fed by cattle; and this practical part of the management ofa place forms one of the most diffi- cult points of the professors of art, because the line of fence which separates the dressed ground from the pasture is too often objectionable; yet there is not less impropriety in admitting cattle to feed in a flower- garden than in excluding them from such a tract of land as might be fed with advantage. At Sheffield Place, the beautiful and long meadow in Agno’s Vale is a striking example of what I have men- tioned ; because, if it were possible, or on the principle of economy advisable, to keep all this ground as neatly rolled and mowed as the lawn near the house, by which it would always appear as it does the first week after the hay is carried off, yet I contend that the want of ani- mals and animation deprives it of half its real charms ; and although many beauties must be relinquished by cur- tailing the number of walks, yet others may be obtained, and the whole will be more easily kept with proper neat- ness by judicious lines of demarcation which shall sepa- rate the groundsto be fed from the grounds to be mown; or rather by such fences as shall, on the one hand, pro- tect the woods from the encroachments of cattle, and, on the other, let the cattle protect the grass-land from the encroachment of woods, for such is the power of vege- tation at Sheffield Place that every berry soon becomes a bush and every bush a tree. From this luxuriant vegetation the natural shape of the vale is obliterated, the gently sloping banks are covered with wood, and the narrow glade in the bottom is choked with spreading larches. It is impossible to describe by words, and without a map, how this line of demarcation should be effected; but I am sure many acres might be given to cattle and the scenery be im- 130 Tue Art or LanpscarpeE GARDENING proved, not only by such moving objects, but also by their use in cropping those vagrant branches which no art could watch with sufficient care and attention. It is to such accidental browsing of cattle that we are indebted for those magical effects of light and shade in forest scenery, which art in vain endeavours to imitate in pleasure-grounds. Perhaps the brook might be made the natural boundary of Arno’s Vale, where a deep channel immediately at the foot of the hill, with or without posts and rails, would make an effectual fence. It will perhaps be objected that a walk by the side of such a fence would be intolerable, yet surely this watercourse, occasionally filled witha lively stream, is far preferable to a dry channel; and yet theonly walk from the house at present is by the side of what may be so called: and, far from considering this a defect, I know it derives much of its interest from this very cir- cumstance. A gravel walk is an artificial convenience, and that it should be protected is one of its first requi- sites: therefore, so long as good taste and good sense shall coincide, the eye will be pleased where the mind is satisfied. Indeed, in the rage for destroying all that ap- peared artificial in the ancient style of gardening, I have frequently regretted the destruction of those majestic ter- races which marked the precise line betwixt nature and art. To describe the various sorts of fences suitable to various purposes would exceed the limits and intentions of this work: every county has its peculiar mode of fencing, both in the construction of hedges and ditches, which belong rather to the farmer than the landscape gardener, and in the different forms and materials of pales, rails, hurdles, gates, etc.; my object is rather to describe such application of common expedients as may have some degree of use or novelty. THEORY AND PRACTICE 131 Amongst these I shall first mention that, instead of sur- rounding a young plantation with a hedge and ditch, with live quick or thorns, I generally recommend as many or even more thorns than trees, to be intermixed in the plantation and the whole to be fenced with postsand rails, more or less neat, according to the situation. But, except near the house, I never suppose this rail to continue after the trees (with the aid of such intermixed thorns) are able to protect themselves against cattle; and thus, instead ofa hard marked outline, the woods will acquire those irregularities which we observe in forest scenery, where in some few instances the trees are choked by the thorns, though in many they are nursed and reared by their protection. In the course of this work, I may have frequent oc- casion to mention the necessity of providing a fence near the house, to separate the dressed lawn from the park or feeding-ground: various ingenious devices have been contrived to reconcile, with neatness and comfort, the practice introduced by Mr. Brown’s followers, of setting a house in a grass-field. The sunk fence or ha! ha! in some places answers the purpose ; in others a light fence of iron or wire, or even a wooden rail, has been used with good effect, if not too high; but generally near all fences the cattle make a dirty path, which, immediately in view of the windows, is unsightly ; and where the fence is higher than the eye, as it must be against deer, the landscape seen through its bars becomes intolerable. After various at- tempts to remedy these defects by any expedient that might appear natural, I have at length boldly had re- course to artificial management, by raising the ground near the house about three feet, and by supporting it with a wall of the same materials as the house. In 132 Tue Art or LanpscapE GARDENING addition to this, an iron rail on the top, only three feet high, becomes a sufficient fence, and forms a sort of terrace in front of the house making an avowed separa- tion between grass kept by the scythe and the park fed by deer or other cattle, while at a little distance it forms a base-line or deep plinth, which gives height and con- sequence to the house. This will, I know, be objected to by those who fancy that everything without the walls of a house should be natural; but a house is an artificial object, and, to a certain distance around the house, art may be avowed: the only difference of opinion will be, where shall this line of utility, separat- ing art from nature, commence? Mr. Brown said, at the threshold of the door, yet he contradicted himself when he made, as he always did, another invisible line beyond it. On the contrary, I advise that it be near the house, though not quite so near: and that the line should be artificially and visibly marked.” When Mr. Brown marked the outline of a great wood sweeping across hill and valley, he might indulge his partiality for a serpentine or graceful curve, which had been then newly introduced by Hogarth’s idea respecting the line of beauty ; but it may be observed that a perfectly straight line, drawn across a valley diagonally, appears to the eye the same as this line of fancied beauty, and therefore, in many cases, the line should be straight. I have already hinted in this chap- ter that the fence of a wood or plantation should be considered as merely temporary, that is, till the thorns planted among the trees can supersede its use. Where- fore, it is of little consequence in what manner a hurdle, or rough posts and rails, without any hedge or ditch, may be placed: a straight line is ever the shortest, and THEORY AND PRACTICE 133 I have often preferred it, especially as I know that a few trees or bushes at each end of such a fine will prevent the eye from looking along its course. Sometimes it happens, from the intermixture of pro- perty or other causes, that the fence is obliged to make a very acute angle ; this may occasionally be remedied by another line of fence fitting to its greatest projection ; and as this same principle may be extended to roads, walks, or rivers, I shall explain it. _The sharp elbow or projection of the fence a [Fig. 17] ceases to be offensive if another fence can be joined to it, as at B, and the same with the line of road or walk ; the branch obviates the defect. It has been observed by the adversaries of the art that exactly the same line will serve either for a road ora river, as it may be filled with gravel or with water. This ridicule may perhaps be deserved by those engineers who are in the habit of making navigable canals only, but the nice observer will see this material difference: The banks of a natural river are never equidistant ; the water in some places will spread to more than twice the breadth it does in others. This pleasing irregularity depends on the shape of the ground through which it flows: a river seldom proceeds far along the middle of a valley, but generally keeps on one side, or boldly stretches across to the other, as the high ground resists 134 Tue Art or Lanpscare GARDENING or the low ground invites its course. These circum- stances in natural rivers should be carefully imitated in those of art, and not only the effects, but even the causes, if possible, should be counterfeited, especially in the form of the shores: thus, the convex side of the river at a [in Fig. 18] should have its shores con- Fig. 18. vex or steep; and the concave side of the river at B should have its shores concave or flat; because, by this means, the course of the river is accounted for. There is another circumstance, with respect to lines, deserving attention. The course of a river may fre- quently shew two or more different bends, which do not so intersect each other as to impede the view along it; and these may be increased in proportion to the breadth of the river: but in a road, or a walk, espe- cially if it passes through a wood or plantation, a sec- ond bend should never be visible. The degree of curve in a walk or road will therefore depend on its width ; thus looking along the narrow line of walk, you will not see the second bend: but in the same curve, Fig. 19. THEORY AND PRACTICE 135 if the road be broader, we should naturally wish to make the curve bolder by breaking from it, according to the dotted line from a to Bin the diagram [Fig. 19]. When two walks separate from each other, it is always desirable to have them diverge in different directions, as at A [in Fig. 20], rather than give the idea of reunit- ing, as at B. Fig. 20. Where two walks join each other, it is generally bet- ter that they should meet at right angles, as at c, than to leave the sharp point, as in the acute angle at p. The most natural course for a road or walk is along the banks of a lake or river, yet I have occasionally observed great beauty in the separation of these two lines ; as where the water sweeps to the left, and the road to the right, or vice versa. The true effect of this circumstance I have often attempted to represent on paper, but it is one of the many instances in which the reality and the picture excite different sensations. This chapter might have included every necessary remark relative to fences, whether attached to parks or farms ; but as I wish to enlarge upon the distinction between the improvements designed for ornament and those for profit or gain, I shall endeavour to explain these different objects, as they appear to me opposite in their views and distinct in their characteristics. Both are, indeed, subjects of cultivation ; but the cultivation in the one is husbandry, and in the other decoration. Chapter VII Farm and Park Distinct Objects — Beauty and Profit seldom compatible HE French term Ferme ornée was, I believe, in- vented by Mr. Shenstone, who was conscious that the English word “‘ Farm” would not convey the idea which he attempted to realise in the scenery of the | Leasowes. That much celebrated spot, in his time, con-- sisted of many beautiful small fields, connected with each other by walks and gates, but bearing no resemb- lance to a farm as a subject of profit. I have never walked through these grounds without lamenting, not only the misapplication of good taste, but that constant disappointment which the benevolent Shenstone must have experienced in attempting to unite two objects so incompatible as ornament and profit. Instead of sur- rounding his house with such a quantity of ornamental lawn or park only as might be consistent with the size . of the mansion or the extent of the property, his taste, rather than his ambition, led him to ornament the whole of his estate, vainly hoping that he might retain all the advantages of a farm, blended with the scenery of a park. Thus he lived under the continual mortification of dis- appointed hope, and, with a mind exquisitely sensible, he felt equally the sneer of the great man, at the magni- ficence of his attempt, and the ridicule of the farmer, at the misapplication of his paternal acres. Since the removal of courtyards and lofty garden- walls from the front of a house, the true substitute for THEORY AND Practice $47 the ancient magnificence destroyed is the more cheerful landscape of modern park scenery; and although its boundary ought in no case to be conspicuous, yet its actual dimensions should bear some proportion to the command of property by which the mansion is sup- ported. If the yeoman destroys his farm by making what is called a Ferme ornée, he will absurdly sacrifice his income to his pleasure, but the country gentleman can only ornament his place by separating the features of farm and park; they are so totally incongruous as not to admit of any union but at the expense either of beauty or profit. The following comparative view will tend to confirm this assertion. The chief beauty of a park consists in uniform verd- ure; undulating lines contrasting with each other in variety of forms ; trees so grouped as to produce light and shade to display the varied surface of the ground ; and an undivided range of pasture. The animals fed in such a park appear free from confinement, at liberty to collect their food from the rich herbage of the valley, and to range uncontrolled to the drier soil of the hills. The farm, on the contrary, is forever changing the colour of its surface in motley and discordant hues; it is subdivided by straight lines of fences. The trees can only be ranged in formal rows along the hedges ; and these the farmer claims a right to cut, prune, and dis- figure. Instead of cattle enlivening the scene by their peaceful attitudes or sportive gambols, animals are bending beneath the yoke or closely confined to fatten within narrow enclosures, objects of profit, not of beauty [Plate xiv]. This reasoning may be further exemplified by an extract from the Red Book of Antony. The shape of the ground at Antony is naturally beautiful, but at- 138 Tue Art oF LanpscAapeE GARDENING tention to the farmer’s interest has almost obliterated all traces of its original form; since the line of fence, which the farmer deems necessary to divide arable from pasture land, is unfortunately that which, of all others, tends to destroy the union of hill and valley. It is generally placed exactly at the point where the undu- lating surface changes from convex to concave, and of course is the most offensive of all intersecting lines ; for it will be found that a line of fence, following the shape of the ground, or falling in any direction from the hill to the valley, although it may offend the eye as a boundary, yet it does not injure, and, in some in- stances, may even improve the beautiful form of the surface. No great improvement, therefore, can be ex- pected at Antony, until almost all the present fences be removed, although others may be placed in more suitable directions. [ Plate xrv. ] I am aware that, in the prevailing rage for agricul- ture, it is unpopular to assert that a farm and a park may not be united; but after various efforts to blend the two, without violation of good taste, I am convinced that they are and must be distinct objects, and ought never to be brought together in the same point of view. To guardagainst misrepresentation, let me be allowed to say each may fill its appropriate station in a gentle- man’s estate; we do not wish to banish the nectarine from our desserts, although we plant out the wall which protects it; nor would I expunge the common farm from the pleasures of the country, though I cannot en- courage its motley hues and domestic occupations to disturb the repose of park scenery. It is the union not the existence of beauty and profit, of laborious exertion and pleasurable recreation, against which I would interpose the influence of my art; nor let the fastidious Park Pirate XIV. Farm and Park THEORY AND PRACTICE 139 objector condemn the effort till he can convince the judgement that, without violation of good taste, he could introduce the dairy and the pig-sty (those useful append- ages of rural economy) into the recesses of the drawing- room or the area of the saloon. The difficulty of uniting a park and a farm arises from this material circumstance, that the one is an object of beauty, the other of profit. The scenery of both consists of ground, trees, water, and cattle; but these are very differently arranged. And since a park is less profitable than arable land, the more we can diminish the quantity of the former, pro- vided it still be in character with the style of the mansion, the less we shall regret the sacrifice of profit to beauty. The shape and colour of corn-fields and the straight lines of fences are so totally at variance with all ideas of picturesque beauty that I shall not venture to suggest any hints on the subject of a farm as an ornament; yet I think there might be a distinction made between the farm of a tenant, who must derive benefit from every part of his land, and that occupied by a gentleman for the purposes of amusement or experiment. It is usual in Hampshire, and, indeed, in the neigh- bourhood of many forests, to divide the enclosures of a farm by rows of copse-wood and timber, from ten to twenty yards wide; at a little distance these rows appear united, and become one rich mass of foliage. This kind of subdivision I should wish to be generally adopted on experimental farms. The advantages of such plantations will be : shady and pleasant walks through the farm; to afford shelter to corn and protect the cattle which are grazed on the farm; to give the whole, at a distance, the appearance of one mass of wood; to make an admirable cover for game; and, lastly, if it should ever hereafter be thought advisable to extend the lawn, such plantations 140 Tue Art or Lanpscape GARDENING will furnish ample choice of handsome trees to remain single or in groups, as taste or judgement shall direct. In some counties the farms consist chiefly of grass- land, but even a dairy-farm must be subdivided into small enclosures ; and although it is not necessary that a lawn near a mansion should be fed by deer, yet it is absolutely necessary that it should have the appearance of a park, and not that of a farm; because, in this con- sists the only difference betwixt the residence of a landlord and his tenant, the gentleman and the farmer: one con- siders how to make the greatest immediate advantage of his land ; the other must, in some cases, give up the idea of profit for the sake of that beauty which is derived from an air of liberty, totally inconsistent with those lines of confinement and subdivision which are charac- teristic of husbandry. Since the beauty of pleasure-ground and the profit of a farm are incompatible, it is the business of taste and prudence so to disguise the latter and to limit the former that park scenery may be obtained without much waste or extravagance; but I disclaim all idea of making that which is most beautiful also most profit- able: a ploughed field and a field of grass are as dis- tinct objects as a flower-garden and a potato-ground. The difference between a farm and a park consists not only in the number of fences and subdivisions, but also in the management of the lines in which the fences of each should be conducted. The farmer, without any attention to the shape of the ground, puts his fences where they will divide the uplands from the meadows ; and in subdividing the ground, he aims only at square fields, and consequently straight lines, avoiding all angles or corners. This is the origin of planting those triangu- lar recesses in a field surrounded by wood, which the THEORY AND PRACTICE I4I farmer deems useless; but which, to the eye of taste, produce effects of light and shade. There is no mistake so commonas that of filling up a recess in a venerable wood with a miserable patch of young plantation. The outline of a wood can never be too boldly indented or too irregular; to make it other- wise, by cutting off the projections or filling up the hol- lows, shews a want of taste, and is as incongruous as it would be to smooth the furrowed bark of an aged oak. dn a park the fences cannot be too few, the trees too majestic, or the views too unconfined. In a farm small enclosures are often necessary ; the mutilated pollard or the yielding willow, in the farmer’s eye, are often pre- ferable to the lofty elm or spreading oak, whilst a full crop of grain or a copious swath of clover is a more gladdening prospect than all the splendid scenery of wood and lawn from the windows of a palace. Small detached farms, adapted to useful and laborious life, un- mixed with the splendours of opulence, but supporters of national wealth, are indeed objects of interest in every point of view; they want not the adventitious aid of picturesque effect to attract peculiar notice; to a bene- volent mind they are more than objects of beauty: they are blessings to society; nor is it incompatible with the pursuit of pleasure sometimes to leave the bound- aries of the park, and watch the exertions of laudable industry or visit the cottages << Where cheerful tenants bless their yearly toil.”’ The monopolist only can contemplate with delight his hundred acres of wheat in a single enclosure ; such expanded avarice may enrich the man, but will impov- erish and distress and (I had almost added) will ulti- mately starve mankind. Chapter VIII Plasure-Grounds — Flower-Gardens — Greenhouse and Conservatories — Various Modes of attaching them to a House N the execution of my profession, I have often ex- perienced great difficulty and opposition in attempt- ing to correct the false and mistaken taste for placing a large house in a naked grass-field, without any appar- ent line of separation betwixt the ground exposed to cattle and the ground annexed to the house, which I consider as peculiarly under the management of art. This line of separation being admitted, advantage may be easily taken to ornament the lawn with flowers and shrubs, and to attach to the mansion that scene of embellished neatness, usually called a pleasure-ground. The quantity of this dressed ground was formerly very considerable. The royal gardens of Versailles or those of Kensington Palace, when filled with company, want no other animation ; but a large extent of ground with- out moving objects, however neatly kept, is but a mel- ancholy scene. If solitude delight, we seek it rather in the covert of a wood or the sequestered alcove of a flower-garden than in the open lawn of an extensive pleasure-ground. I have therefore frequently been the means of restor- ing acres of useless garden to the deer or sheep, to which they more properly belong. This is now carrying on with admirable effect at Bulstrode, where the gardens of every kind are ona great scale, and where, from the THEORY AND PRACTICE 143 choice and variety of the plants, the direction of the walks, the enrichment of art, and the attention to every circumstance of elegance and magnificence, the pleasure- ground is perfect as a whole, while its several parts may furnish models of the following different characters of taste in gardening: the ancient garden, the American garden, the modern terrace-walks, and the flower-gar- den. The latter is, perhaps, one of the most varied and extensive of its kind, and therefore too large to be other- wise artificial than in the choice of its flowers and the “embellishments of art in its ornaments. Flower-gardens on a small scale may, with propriety, be formal and artificial; but in all cases they require neatness and attention. On this subject I shall tran- scribe the following passage from the Red Book of Valley Field.” To common observers, the most obvious difference between Mr. Brown’s style and that of ancient gardens was the change from straight to waving or serpentine lines. Hence many of his followers had supposed good taste in gardening to consist in avoiding all lines that are straight or parallel, and in adopting forms which they deem more consonant to nature, without consid- ering what objects were natural and what were artificial. This explanation is necessary to justify the plan which I recommended for the canal in this flower-garden [ Plate xv]; for while I should condemn a long straight line of water in an open park, where everything else is natural, I should equally object to a meandering canal or walk, by the side of a longstraight wall, where every- thing else is artificial. A flower-garden should be an object detached and distinct from the general scenery of the place; and, whether large or small, whether varied or formal, it 144 Tue Art or LanpscaPE GARDENING ought to be protected from hares and smaller animals by an inner fence: within this enclosure rare plants of every description should be encouraged and a provision made of soil and aspect for every different class. Beds ~ of bog-earth should be prepared for the American plants: the aquatic plants, some of which are peculiarly beau- - tiful, should grow on the surface or near the edges of water. The numerous class of rock-plants should have beds of rugged stone provided for their reception, with- out the affectation of such stones being the natural pro- duction of the soil; but, above all, there should be poles or hoops for those kinds of creeping plants which spon- taneously form themselves into graceful festoons, when encouraged and supported by art. Yet, with all these circumstances, the flower-garden, except where it is annexed to the house, should not be visible from the roads or general walks about the place. It may there- fore be of a character totally different from the rest of the scenery, and its decorations should be as much those of art as of nature. The flower-garden at Nuneham,” without being formal, is highly enriched, but not too much crowded with seats, temples, statues, vases, or other ornaments, which, being works of art, beautifully harmonize with that profusion of flowers and curious plants which distinguish the flower-garden from natural landscape, although the walks are not in straight lines. But at Valley Field, where the flower-garden is in front of a long wall, the attempt to make the scene natural would be affected; and, therefore, as two great sources of interest in a place are variety and contrast, the only means by which these can be introduced are in this flower-garden, which, as a separate object, becomes a sort of episode to the general and magnificent scenery. PIP ASTRA “WOPIPL) -1IMOLT ANS ALY Tg ere: : Sei ate SAGE SCRE HOP 5 eae Ph, %: ibs a dle 7+ vf THEORY AND PRACTICE 145 The river being everywhere else a lively stream, rat- tling and foaming over a shallow bed of rock or gravel, a greater contrast will arise from a smooth expanse of water in the flower-garden: to produce this must be a work of art, and, therefore, instead of leading an open channel from the river to supply it or making it appear a natural branch of that river, I recommend that the water should pass underground, with regulating sluices or shuttles to keep it always at the same height. Thus the canal will be totally detached from the river and become a distinct object, forming the leading feature of the scene to which it belongs; a scene purely artificial, where a serpentine canal would be as incongruous as a serpentine garden-wall or a serpentine bridge; and, strange as it may appear, I have seen such absurdities introduced, to avoid nature’s supposed abhorrence of a straight line. The banks of this canal or fish-pond may be enriched with borders of curious flowers, and a light fence of green laths will serve to train such as require support, while it gives to the whole an air of neatness and careful attention. But, as the ends of this water should also be marked by some building or covered seat, I have supposed the entrance to the flower-garden to be under a covered pass- age of hoops, on which may be trained various sorts of creeping plants; and the farther end may be decorated _ by an architectural Building, which I suppose to con- sist of a covered seat between two aviaries. It will perhaps be objected that a long straight walk can have little variety; but the greatest source of variety in a flower-garden is derived from the selection and divers- ity of its shrubs and flowers. There is no ornament of a flower-garden more appro- priate than a conservatory or a greenhouse, where the 146 Tue Art or LanpscapE GARDENING flower-garden is not too far from the house; but amongst the refinements of modern luxury may be reckoned that of attaching a greenhouse to some room in the mansion, a fashion with which I have so often been required to comply that it may not be improper, in this work, to make ample mention of the various methods by which it has been effected in different places. At Bowood, at Wimpole, at Bulstrode, at Attingham, at Dyrham Park, at Caenwood, at Thoresby, and some other large houses of the last century, green- houses were added to conceal offices behind them, and they either became a wing of the house or were in the same style of architecture: but these were all built at a period when only orange-trees and myrtles ora very few other greenhouse plants were introduced, and no light was required in the roof of such buildings. In many of them, indeed, the piers between each window are as large as the windows. Since that period the numerous tribe of geraniums, ericas, and other exotic plants, requiring more light, have caused a very material alteration in the construction of the greenhouse; and perhaps the more it resembles the shape of a nurseryman’s stove, the better it will be adapted to the purposes of a modern greenhouse. Yet such an appendage, however it may increase its 1n- terior comfort, will never add to the external ornament of a house of regular architecture: it is therefore generally more advisable to make the greerihouse in the flower- garden, as near as possible to without forming a part of the mansion ; and in these situations great advantage may be taken of treillage ornaments to admit light, whilst it disguises the ugly shape of a slanting roof of glass. There is one very material objection to a greenhouse immediately attached to a room constantly inhabited, viz. that the smell and damp from a large body of earth THEORY AND PRACTICE 147 in the beds or pots is often more powerful than the fragrance of the plants; therefore the conservatory should always be separated from the house by a lobby or small anteroom. But the greatest objection arises from its want of conformity to the neighbouring mansion, since it is difficult to make the glass roof of a conservatory architectural, whether Grecian or Gothic. An arcade is ill adapted to the purpose, because, by the form of an arch, the light is excluded at the top, where it is most essential in a greenhouse; for this reason the flat Gothic arch of Henry the Eighth is less objectionable, yet in such buildings we must suppose the roof to have been taken away to make room for glass; of this kind is the conservatory in front of Rendlesham House. In the adaptation of ancient forms to modern uses and inventions, we are often under the necessity of deviating from the rules of true Gothic. Under such circum- stances it is perhaps better to apply old expedients to new uses than to invent a new and absurd style of Gothic or Grecian architecture. At Plas-Newyd, where the house partakes of a Gothic character, I suggested the addition of a greenhouse, terminating a magnificent enfilade through alonglineof principalapartments. The hint for this model is taken from the chapter-rooms to some of our cathedrals, where an octagon roof is sup- ported by a slender pillar in the middle, and if this were made of cast-iron, supporting the ribs of aroof of thesame material, there would be no great impropriety in filling the interstices with glass, while the side window-frames might be removed entirely in summer, makinga beautiful pavilion at that season, when, the plants being removed, a greenhouse is generally a deserted and unsightly object. Chapter 1X Landscape Gardening and Painting — Pictures may imitate Nature, but Nature is not to copy Pictures T the time my former publication was in the press, the art of landscape gardening was attacked by two gentlemen, Mr. Knight, of Herefordshire, and Mr. Price,3* of Shropshire ; and I retarded its publica- tion till I could take some notice of the opinions of these formidable, because ingenious, opponents. Hav- ing since been consulted on subjects of importance in those two counties, I willingly availed myself of oppor- tunities to deliver my sentiments as particular circum- stances occurred, and therefore, with permission of the respective proprietors, I insert the following observa- tions from the Red Books of Sufton Court, in Here- fordshire, and Attingham, in Shropshire: My opinion concerning the improvement of Sufton Court involving many principles in the art of landscape gardening, I take this opportunity of justifying my practice, in opposition to the wild theory which has lately appeared ; and shall therefore occasionally allude to this new system when it bears any relation to our objects at Sufton Court. Having already published a volume on the subject of landscape gardening, it will be unnecessary to explain the motives which induced me to adopt this name for a profession as distinct from the art of landscape painting as it is from the art of planting cabbages or pruning fruit-trees. The slight THEORY AND PRACTICE 149 and often gaudy sketches by which I have found it neces- sary to elucidate my opinions are the strongest proofs that I do not profess to be a landscape painter, but to represent the scenes of nature in her various hues of blue sky, purple mountains, green trees, etc., which are often disgusting to the eye of a connoisseur in painting. The best painters in landscape have studied in Italy or France, where the verdure of England is unknown: hence arises the habit acquired by the connoisseur of admiring brown tints and arid foregrounds in the pic- tures of Claude and Poussin, and from this cause he prefers the bistre sketches to the green paintings of Gainsborough. One of our best landscape painters studied in Ireland, where the soil is not so yellow as in England ; and his pictures, however beautiful in design and composition, are always cold and chalky. Autumn is the favourite season of study for landscape painters, when all nature verges towards decay, when the foliage changes its vivid green to brown and orange, and the lawns put on their russet hue. But the tints and verdant colouring of spring and summer will have superior charms to those who delight in the perfection of nature, without, perhaps, ever considering whether they are adapted to the painter’s landscape. It is not from the colouring only but the general composition of landscapes that the painter and land- scape gardener will feel the difference in their respect- ive arts; and although each may occasionally assist the other, yet I should no more advise the latter, in laying out the scenery of a place, to copy the confined field of vision or affect the careless graces of Claude or Poussin than I should recommend, as a subject proper for aland scape painter, the formal rows or quincunx posi- tion of trees in geometric gardening. It has been wittily 150 Tue Art or Lanpscape GARDENING observed that “‘ the works of nature are well executed, but in a bad taste”; this, I suppose, has arisen from the propensity of good taste to display the works of nature to advantage, but it does not hence follow that art is to be the standard for nature’s imitation. Neither does it disgrace painting to assert that nature may be rendered more pleasing than the finest picture, since the perfection of painting seldom aims at exact or individual representation of nature. A panorama gives a more natural idea of ships at sea than the best picture of Vandervelde; but it has little merit as a painting, because it too nearly resembles the original to please as an effort of imitative art. My sketches, if they were more highly finished, would be a sort of panorama, or facsimile, of the scenes they represent, in which little effect is attempted on the principle of com- position in painting; but like a profile shadow or sil- houette, they may please as portraits, while they offend the connoisseur as paintings. The art I profess is of a higher nature than that of painting, and is thus very aptly described by a French author: “J/ est a la poésie et 2 la peinture, ce que la réalité est a la déscription et P original a la copie.” The house at Sufton Court having been built long before I had the honour of being consulted, its aspects, situation, and general arrangement do not properly come under my consideration. Yet, as I shall sug- gest a hint for altering the windows in the drawing- room, I must consider the different landscapes in each direction. The views towards the south and west are extensive, and, under certain circumstances of light and weather, often wonderfully beautiful; but, as dis- tant prospects depend so much on the state of the atmosphere, I have frequently asserted that the views THEORY AND PRACTICE 1st from a house, and particularly those from the drawing- room, ought rather to consist of objects which evidently belong to the place. To express this idea, I have used the word appropriation, by which I mean such a por- tion of wood and lawn as may be supposed to belong to the proprietor of the mansion, occupied by himself, not so much for the purposes of gain as of pleasure and convenience: this, of course, should be grass, whether fed by deer, by sheep, or by other cattle, and its subdivisions, if there be any, ought not to be per- manent. I am ready to allow that this part of modern gardening has often been egregiously mistaken and absurdly practised ; I find no error so difficult to coun- teract as the general propensity for extent, without sufficient attention to the size, style, or character of the house or of the surrounding estate. Extent and beauty have ever appeared to me distinct objects ; and a small place, in which the boundary is not obtrusive, may be more interesting and more con- sonant to elegance and convenience than a large tract of land, which has no other merit than that it consists of many hundred acres or is encompassed by a pale of many miles in circuit, while, perhaps, within this area, half the land is ploughed in succession. The drawing-room, at present, looks towards the south, but there appear to be several reasons for alter- ing its aspect: 1st, because the hall and dining-room command the same prospect, but more advantageously ; 2d, because the windows, being near the hall-door, a carriage-road, which must occasionally be dirty, be- comes a bad foreground; and, lastly, the view toward the east will not only be different from the others, but is of such a nature as to appear wholly appropriate to the place, and, therefore, in strict harmony with the 152 Tue Art or LanpscapE GARDENING quiet home scene of a country residence. It consists of a beautiful lawn or valley, having its opposite bank richly clothed with wood, which requires very little as- sistance to give it an irregular and pleasing outline, and is one of the many subjects more capable of de- lighting the eye in nature than in a picture. It has been laid down, by a recent author before named, as a general rule for improvement, to plant largely and cut down sparingly. This is the cautious advice of timidity and inexperience, for, in some situ- ations, improvement may be effected by the axe rather than by the spade, of which Sufton Court furnishes an instance: the trees in a straight line, at the bottom of the hill, have in vain been encumbered by young trees, planted with a view of breaking their formal row, while in reality they produce the contrary effect. I rather advise boldly taking away all the young trees and part of the old ones, but particularly an oak, which not only hides the forked stem of a tree behind, but from its situation depresses the other trees and lessens the mag- nitude and importance both of the hill and of the grove by which its brow is covered. The situation of Attingham is at variance with its character, since it is impossible to annex ideas of grandeur and magnificence to a mansion with little apparent domain. The flat lawn between the highroad and the house, although very extensive, yet, possessing no variety in the size of the trees, and but little in the shape of ground, the eye is deceived in its real distance. By the laws of perspective, the nearer any object is to the eye, the larger it will appear; also, the larger any object is, the nearer it will appear to the eye: con- sequently, the magnitude of the house makes it appear THEORY AND PRACTICE 169 nearer than it really is, there being no intervening objects to divert the attention or to act as a scale and assist the eye in judging of the distance. For this reason every stranger who sees this house from the turnpike road would describe it as a large house with very little ground between it and the road. The first idea of improvement would be, either to remove the house or the road; but as neither of these expedients is practicable, we must have recourse to art to do away with this false impression. This I shall consider as form- ifig the basis of the alteration proposed at Attingham. In ancient Gothic structures, where lofty walls and various courts intervened between the palace and the neighbouring village, there was sufficient dignity or seclusion, without that apparent extent of domain which a modern mansion requires; but since the restraint of ancient grandeur has given place to modern elegance, which supposes greater ease and freedom, the situation of a house in the country is more or less defective, in proportion as it is more or less bounded or incommoded by alien property. Thus a highroad, a ploughed field, a barn, or a cottage adjoining a large house, has a tendency to lessen its importance ; and hence originates the idea of extending park, lawn, or pleasure-grounds in every direction from the house; hence, also, arises the disgust we feel at seeing the park-pales and grounds beyond, when they are so near or so conspicuous as to impress the mind with an idea of not belonging to the place. Perhaps the love of unity may contribute to the pleasure we feel in viewing a park where the boundary is well concealed. This desire of hiding the boundary introduced the modern practice of surrounding almost every park with a narrow plantation or belt, which, if 154 Tue Art or Lanpscape GARDENING consisting of trees planted at the same time, becomes little better than a mere hedge-row, and is deservedly rejected by every man of taste; yet there are many situations where a plantation becomes the natural bound- ary of a park: such is the screen of wood on the high- est ground to the east of Attingham, where it forms a pleasing outline to the landscape, without exciting a wish to know whether it is the termination of the property. In consequence of the apparent want of extent in the park or lawn at Attingham, it was suggested to add many hundred acres of land to the east, by removing the hedges of the adjoining fields. This would have increased the real without extending the apparent mag- nitude of the park: but I contend that oftentimes it is the appearance and not the reality of extent which is necessary to satisfy the mind ; for the size of the park has little reference to that of the estate of the proprie- tor. The land attached to a villa, near a city, may with propriety be surrounded by pales, or a wall, for the sake of privacy and seclusion, but it is absurd to enclose more of a distant domain than is necessary for the beauty of the place; besides, if this park or lawn had been extended a mile farther to the east, the confine- ment to the south, which is in the front of the house, would not have been done away, and, consequently, to the traveller passing the road the apparent extent would not have been increased; and without some striking or beautiful feature, extent alone is seldom interesting. If large trees, river scenery, or bold inequality of ground can be included by enlarging a park, they are sufficient motives; but views of distant mountains, which may be seen as well from the highroad, are not features that justify extensive lawn over a flat surface.** THEORY AND PRACTICE 155 To do away with the impression of confinement at Attingham, the park should be extended across the road, and thus the stranger will be induced to believe he passes through and not at the extremity of the park. Secondly, some striking and interesting features should be brought into notice, such as the junction of the Sev- ern and the Terne, which may be actually effected within the limits of the park; and particularly the great arch across the Terne, of which no adequate advantage is at present taken. There are, also, some large trees and many interesting points of view, which well deserve attention in a plan professing to increase the number of beautiful circumstances rather than the number of acres in the park. In opposition to Mr. Price’s idea, that all improve- ment of scenery should be derived from the works of Fig. 21. Scene in the grounds at Attingham great painters, I shall observe that there are, at pre- sent, very near the house,some fragments of an old mill and brick arches [see Fig. 21] which make a charm- ing study for a painter; the composition is not unlike a beautiful picture of Ruisdale’s, at Attingham, which every man of taste must admire: of this scene, as it now exists, I have endeavoured to give a faint idea. 156 Tue Art or Lanpscape GARDENING Among the trees is seen part of the colonnade thatjoins the east wing to the body of the house: from the gen- eral character of this scenery, we cannot but suppose this to be a fragment of some ruined Grecian temple, and no part of a modern inhabited palace. Hence it is evident that the mind cannot associate the ideas of elegance with neglect or perfect repair and neatness with ruin and decay: such objects, therefore, however picturesque in themselves, are incongruous and misplaced if near such a palace as Attingham. Another mistake of the admirers of painters’ land- scape is the difference in the quantity of a natural and an artificial composition: the finest pictures of Claude (and here again | may refer to a picture at Atting- ham) seldom consist of more than one fifth of that field of vision which the eye can with ease behold, without any motion of the head, viz. about 20 degrees out of go; and we may further add that without moving the body our field of vision is extended to 180 degrees. Now it is obvious that the picture of Claude, already mentioned, which is between four and five feet long, if it had been extended to 20 or 30 feet, would not have been so pleasing a composition ; because, instead of a picture, it would have resembled a panorama. This I may further instance, in the view from the breakfast- room, consisting of a distant range of mountains, by far too long for any picture. Yet a small part of this view might furnish a subject for the painter, by sup- posing a tree to form the foreground of the landscape. Are we then to plant such a tree, or a succession of such trees, to divide the whole field of vision into sep- arate landscapes? and would not such an attempt at improvement be like placing five or six pictures of Claude in one long frame? The absurdity of the idea THEORY AND PRACTICE 1577 proves the futility of making pictures our models for natural improvements: however I may respect the works of the great masters in painting, and delight to look at nature with a painter’s eye, yet I shall never be induced to believe that “ the best landscape painter would be the best landscape gardener.” * The River Terne, being liable to floods from every heavy shower of rain which falls upon the neighbour- ing hills, has formed a number of different channels and islands: some of these channels are dry when the water is low, and some of the islands are covered when the water is high. These irriguous appearances have charms in the eye of a landscape painter, who, from some detached parts, might select a study for a fore- ground, at a happy moment when the water is neither too high nor too low. But the landscape gardener has a different object to effect; he must secure a constant and permanent dispiay of water, which may be seen at a distance, and which shall add brilliancy and grandeur to the character of the scenery: it is not an occasionally meandering brook that such a palace or such a bridge requires, but it is an ample river, majestically flowing through the park, and spreading cheerfulness on all around it. Mr. Price has written an essay to describe the prac- tical manner of finishing the banks of artificial water, but I confess, after reading it with much attention, I despair of making any practitioner comprehend his meaning ; indeed, he confesses that no workman can be trusted to execute his plans. It is very true that large pieces of water may be made too trim and neat about the edges, and that often, in Mr. Brown’s works, the plantations are not brought near enough to the water; but if the banks are finished smoothly at first, 158 THe Art or LAnpscarpE GARDENING the treading of cattle will soon give them all the irreg- ularity they require; and with respect to plantations, we must always recollect that no young trees can be planted without fences, and every fence near the water is doubled by reflection; consequently, all rules for creating bushes to enrich the banks are nugatory, ex- cept where cattle are excluded. The difficulty of clothing the banks of artificial water has been a source of complaint made against Mr. Brown, for having left them bare and bald; but the river at Attingham will be sufficiently enriched by the few trees already growing on its margin, and by the plantations proposed on the island. There is a part of the River Terne, above the house, where both its banks are richly clothed with alders, and every person of discernment must admire the beauty of this scene, but if the same were continued quite to the bridge the river would be invisible from the house and from every part of the park : how, then, 1s it possible that the banks of water should everywhere be covered with wood? I contend that a broad ample channel, in proportion to the bridge, will be far more in character with the style of the house and the bridge than the more intricate, which, on paper, is perhaps more picturesque. If it is ridiculous to imitate nature badly in a picture, how much more ridiculous will it appear to imitate a picture badly in nature; an imita- tion which, after all, must be left for half a century, to be finished by the slow process of “neglect and ac- cident.” The water at Attingham having been completed, and a new channel made to connect the River Terne with the Severn, the improvement is obvious to every person who travels the great road to Shrewsbury : it is THEORY AND PRACTICE 159 therefore needless to elucidate these observations by any views of the place, especially as painting can give but an imperfect idea of the situation commanding that extensive range of hills which separates England from Wales. Chapter X Ancient and Modern Gardening — Change of Style — Art and Nature considered T is not my intention to enter into a minute history of gardening, or, pursuing the course of some other writers, to trace back the gradual progress of the art from Brown to Kent, from Kent to Le Notre, from him to the Italians, the Romans, the Grecians, and, ultimately, to Adam, who was “the first gardener’”’; but I shall confine myself to a few observations on the change in the fashion of gardens, to shew how much of each different style may be preserved or rejected with advantage; and lest it should appear to some readers that my allusions are too frequent to the late theoretical writers on landscape gardening, it is necessary to observe that many of the manuscripts whence I now transcribe were written long before Mr. Knight’s and Mr. Price’s works appeared ; of course the allusions relate to other authors on the sub- ject, whose sentiments these gentlemen seem to have taken up without acknowledging that they had ever read them. It may not be uninteresting here to mention a few of the authors who have written on gardening, especially as the works of some are become scarce, and are not generally known. I scarcely need mention the late Horace Walpole, who, in his lively and ingenious manner, has given both the history and the rules of the art better than any other theorist. ; THEORY AND PRACTICE 161 The history of gardening is very learnedly discussed, in a brief inquiry into the knowledge the ancients pos- sessed of the art, by Dr. Faulkner; and the same sub- ject is more lightly but not less correctly or elegantly treated by my late ingenious friend, Daniel Malthus, Esq., in a preface to his translation of “ D’Ermenonville de la Composition des Paysages.”’ Every person the least interested in this study must have read the beautiful Poems of Mason, and De Lisle, the “Oriental Gardening” of Sir William Cham- bers, and the “Observations on Modern Gardening,” by Mr. Whately; but, perhaps, few have seen that elaborate performance, in five volumes quarto, published in Germanand also in French, under the title of “ Théorie de l’Art des Jardins,” by M. Hirschfeld, a work in which are collected extracts from almost every book, in every European language, that has any reference to the scenery of nature or to the art of landscape gardening. *4 When gardening was conducted by the geometric principles of the school of Le Notre, the perfection of planting was deemed to consist in straight lines of trees, or regular corresponding forms of plantation; and as the effect of this style of gardening greatly depended on alevel surface of ground, we often find that prodigious labour was employed to remove those inequalities which nature opposed to this ill-judging taste. At Wimpole the natural shape of the surface seemed to invite this fashion for geometric forms; the ground was covered in every direction with trees in straight lines, circles, squares, triangles, and in almost every mathematical figure. These had acquired the growth of a century when the taste of gardening changed, and as every absurd fashion is apt to run from one extreme to 162 THe ArT or LANDSCAPE GARDENING another, the world was then told that “‘ Nature abhorred a straight line’; that perfection in gardening consisted in waving lines; and that it was necessary to obliterate every trace of artificial interference. And now many a lofty tree, the pride and glory of our ancient palaces, was rooted up, because it stood on the same line with its fellows and contemporaries; and because these ranks of sturdy veterans could not,* like a regiment of soldiers, be marched into new shapes, according to the new system of tactics, they were unmercifully cut down ; not to dis- play beautiful scenery behind them, but merely to break their ranks: while a few were spared which could be formed into platoons: — this was called clumping an avenue. The position of all the large trees on the plain near the house at Wimpole shews the influence of fashion in these different styles ; the original lines may be easily traced by the trees which remain, and the later formed clumps are scattered about, like the ghosts of former avenues, or monstrous shapes which could not be sub- dued. One great advantage of Wimpole arises from its comparative beauty, or the contrast between the place and its environs. The counties of Cambridge and Huntingdon consist generally of flat ground, while the hills are open corn-fields thinly intersected by hedges. But Wimpole abounds in beautiful shapes of ground and is richly clothed with wood; it is, therefore, like a flower in the desert, beautiful in itself, but more beau- tiful by its situation. Yet no idea of this beauty can be formed from the approach to the house, because the plain is everywhere covered with lofty trees which hide not only the inequalities of the ground, but also the depth of wood in every direction; and although the original straight lines of the trees have been partially THEORY AND PRACTICE 163 broken, the intervals shew none of the varied scenery beyond. I do not, therefore, hesitate to say that, by judiciously removing some hundred trees, the place would be made to appear more wooded: for it fre- quently happens that a branch near the eye may hide a group of twenty trees, or a single tree conceal a whole grove. In thus recommending the liberal use of the axe, I hope I shall not be deemed an advocate for that bare and bald system of gardening which has been so justly ridiculed. I do not profess to follow either Le Notre or Brown, but, selecting beauties from the style of each, to adopt so much of the grandeur of the former as may accord with a palace and so much of the grace of the latter as may call forth the charms of natural landscape. Each has its proper situation ; and-good taste will make fashion subservient to good sense. The modern rage for natural landscape has fre- quently carried its admirers beyond the true limits of improvement, the first object of which ought to be convenience, and the next picturesque beauty. My taste may, perhaps, be arraigned for asserting that the straight terrace at the Hasells ought not to be disturbed: although it is a remnant of geometric gardening of the last century, yet it isan object of such comfort and convenience that it would be unpardon- able to destroy it for no other reason than because a straight walk is out of fashion ; this would be acknow- ledging (what I protest against) that the art of landscape gardening ought to be under the dominion of fashion. If this terrace were constantly an object of view, or very materially offensive to the general scenery of the place, its linear direction might cut the composition 164 Tue Art or Lanpscapre GARDENING and destroy its effect as a natural landscape: in its present situation it is merelya foreground or frame’ to a pleasing picture, and the view from hence is so fine, so varied, and so interesting that the spectator must be fastidious indeed who could turn away dis- gusted, because it is seen over a clipt hedge, or with a broad flat walk in its foreground. A beautiful scene will always be beautiful, whether we view it from an alcove, a window, or a formal terrace: and the latter, in the height of summer, may sometimes answer the purpose of an additional room or gallery when there is much company, who delight to saunter on such an esplanade; while the intricacies of a winding path are better calculated for a solitary walk. The ancient dignity of character in the house at Cobham would be violated by the too near intrusion of that gay prettiness which generally accompanies a garden-walk; yet convenience and comfort require such a walk at no great distance from the house.** I shall, perhaps, astonish some of the improvers in modern serpentine gardening by declaring that, as an appendage to this ancient mansion, I would prefer the broad and stately mall along a straight line of terrace to their too frequently repeated waving line of beauty. This sort of walk may, I think, be still further en- couraged, where it already in some degree exists, to the north of the kitchen-garden, which, falling from the eye, might easily be concealed from the park by a shrubbery kept low; not to intercept the view towards the opposite bank in the park, while it would give an imaginary increase of depth to the vale beneath. And to remove the objection of returning by the same walk, a second terrace might be carried still higher on the bank, and by the style and accompaniment of its planta- THEORY AND PRACTICE 165 tion, all sameness would easily be obviated, perhaps, by making one of them a winter walk, planted chiefly with evergreens and shrubs. To justify my opinion it is necessary to guard against a misconstruction of what I have advanced, lest I may be accused of reviving the old taste of gardening. I do not recommend the ter- race as an object of beauty in all cases, but of conven- ience ; for the same reason that I advise the proximity of a kitchen-garden, provided the principal apartments do not look upon either. “Our ancestors were so apt to be guided by utility that they at length imagined it was in all cases a sub- stitute for beauty; and thus we frequently see ancient houses surrounded not only by terraces, avenues, and fish-ponds, but even stables and the meanest offices formed a part of the view from the windows of their principal rooms. I am far from recommending a return to these absurdities; yet, in the rage for picturesque beauty, let us remember that the landscape holds an inferior rank to the historical picture: one represents nature, the other relates to man in a state of society. If we banish winter comforts from the country-seats of our nobility, we shall also banish their inhabitants, who gen- erally reside there more in winter than in summer; and there is surely no object of greater comfort and utility belonging to a garden and a country mansion, than a dry spacious walk for winter, sheltered by such trees as preserve their clothing, while all other plants are desti- tute of foliage. I will add the opinion of a very able commentator, who, mentioning “this self-evident proposition, that a rural scene in reality and a rural scene on canvas are not precisely one and the same thing,” says, “ that point in which they differ here is not itself without a guiding 166 Tue Art or LAnpscarpeE GARDENING principle: utility sets up her claim and declares that, however concurrent the genuine beauty of nature and picture may be, the garden scene is hers, and must be rendered conformable to the purposes of human life ; if to these every consonant charm of painting be added, she is pleased; but by no means satisfied, if that which is convertible to use be given absolutely to wildness.” 37 The natural situation of Burley differs from that of every other large place which has fallen under my con- sideration. To say that the house stands on a lofty hill would be giving a very imperfect idea of its situation ; on the contrary, it ought rather to be described as a magnificent palace, built on the extremity of a vast plain, or, what is called by geographers, a table mountain, from the brow of which it boldly commands an assemblage of wood, water, lawn, and distant country, spread mag- nificently at its base. The view from the principal suite of apartments, how- ever rich and varied in itself, becomes much more inter- esting by the power of contrast, because the great plain to the north affords no promise of such views, and, there- fore, the surprise occasioned by this unexpected scen- ery, 1s a subject worthy the attention of the improver: the effects of surprise are seldom to be produced by art, and those who attempt to excite it by novelty or contrast are in danger of falling into puerile conceits.® But where, as in the present instance, much of the nat- ural sublime exists, this effect should be increased by every means which does not betray the insignificance of art, when compared with the works of nature. For this reason, if the approach were brought along the straight line of avenue, gradually ascending, the situa- THEORY AND PRACTICE 167 tion of Burley would lose much of its sublimity by anticipation. The prevalence of fashion, in all subjects of taste, will at times have its influence, but as fashion is more the effect of whim and caprice than of reason and ar- gument, it has been my great object to rescue land- - scape gardening from its fascinating power; and while accommodating myself to the wishes of those who con- sult me, to the customs of the times, or to the peculiar- ity of various situations and characters, I hope never to lose sight of the great and essentia! object of my profession, the elegance, the magnificence, and the con- venience of rural scenes, appropriated to the uses of a gentleman’s habitation.%? This may be equally effected, whether we revert to the formal fashion of straight walled gardening or adopt the serpentine lines of modern improvers, under the pretended notion of imitating nature. But there is a certain dignity of style in Burley, which, like the cum- brous robes of our nobility, neither can nor ought to be sacrificed to the innovation of fashion or the affectation of ease and simplicity. Mr. Burke justly observes that “a true artist should put a generous deceit on the spectators and effect the noblest designs by easy methods. Designs that are vast only by their dimensions are always the sign of a com- mon and low imagination. No work of art can be great but as it deceives; to be otherwise is the prerogative of nature only.” This precept seems to have been overlooked in the attempt to modernise Burley: the spacious court surrounded by a colonnade has been frequently quoted as a wonderful effort of art: and when the distant country was excluded by a wall, by the village, and by trees beyond it, this ample area was 168 THe ArT oF LANDSCAPE GARDENING undoubtedly one of the most striking appendages of a palace. But the moment one side of the quadrangle is opened to the adjacent country, it shrinks from the comparison, and the long fronts of opposite offices seem extended into the vast expanse, without any line of connexion. This comparative insignificancy of art is nowhere more strongly exemplified than in the large wet docks of Liverpool and Hull: while the margins of the river are left dry by the ebbing tides, we look with astonishment at the capacious basins filled with a vast body of water, but when the tide flows to the same level, and the floodgates are thrown open, the extent and importance of the river convert these arti- ficial basins into creeks or mere pools. It is, therefore, only by avoiding a comparison with the works of nature that we can produce the effect of greatness in artificial objects; and a large court surrounded by build- ings can have no pretensions to be deemed a natural object. After removing the wall which formed the front of the court, a doubt arose whether the present gate and porter’s lodge should or should not remain, and how to approach the house to the greatest advantage. There is a certain point of distance from whence every object appears at its greatest magnitude: but in cases where symmetry prevails, the distance may be rather greater, because exact correspondence of parts assists the mind in forming an idea of the whole. I should therefore conceive that the effect of surprise, of magnificence, and of the sublime, in this effort of art, is greatly injured by seeing the interior of this ample court before we arrive at the entrance gate; because that is nearly the spot where the eye is completely filled THEORY AND PRACTICE 169 and gratified by the surrounding objects. But as this view should not be momentary, I suppose the road to continue from the gate in a straight line, till it falls into a circle with the colonnade; and here the broad road may be intercepted with posts and chains, to direct car- riages into that course which displays the whole area to the greatest advantage, passing nearer to the side colon- nade, shewing that in perspective, and presenting the house at the angle to shew itsdepth. The manner in which this is effected by sweeping round the court is ffot to be described by painting, because every step varies the position of the several parts, as they advance or recede perspectively. Hitherto I have spoken of the north or entrance front and courtyard of Burley, the whole of which | would treat only as a work of art, and, if possible, exclude all view of the country. But to the south, the prospect or natural landscape is the leading feature for our consideration. The steep descent from the house has been cut into a number of terraces, each supported by a red brick wall; and if these several walls had been of stone, or architecturally finished like the old costly hanging-gardens of France and Italy, they might perhaps have added more magnificence to the house than any improvement which modern gardening could suggest, but they are mean in their forms, diminutive in their height, and out of harmony in their colour. Yet the style of the house and the steepness of the declivity will not admit of their being all taken away to slope the ground, in the manner too often practised by modern improvers. I therefore make a compromise between ancient and modern gardening, between art and nature, and by in- creasing the height, or rather the depth, from the upper 170 Tue Art or Lanpscape GARDENING terrace to the lower level of the ground, I make that the line of demarcation beween the dressed ground and the park; and happy would it be for the magnificence of English scenery if many such stately terraces near a palace had been thus preserved. Chapter XI Endless Variety of Situation and Character — First Impressions — Roads — Entrances — Adaptation of Ornamental Buildings HAVE occasionally been asked, when visiting a beautiful spot, which, of all the places I had seen, was the most beautiful? It is impossible to define those circumstances which, on different persons, make different impressions at first sight; perfection is no more to be found in the works of nature than in those of art. Such is the equal providence of the great Author of nature that every place has its beauties and its deform- ities, and, whether situated among the mountains of Wales or on the margin of Clapham Common, it will not only be endeared to its proprietor, but to the dis- cerning stranger, by some peculiar features of beauty. The materials of natural landscape are ground, wood, and water, to which man adds buildings, and adapts them to the scene. It is therefore from the artificial considerations of utility, convenience, and propriety, that a place derives its real value in the eyes of a man of taste: he will discover graces and defects in every situation ; he will be as much delighted with a bed of flowers as with a forest thicket, and he will be as much disgusted by the fanciful affectation of rude nature in tame scenery as by the trimness of spruce art in that which is wild: the thatched hovel in a flower-garden and the ¢reillis bocage [grove trellis, trellis-work arched overhead] in a forest are equally misplaced. 172 Tue Art or Lanpscapre GARDENING General principles, or general designs, which may be applicable to all situations, would be alike impossible. The painter copies, in their respective places, the eyes, the nose, and mouth of the individual, but, without adding character, his picture will not be interesting. The landscape gardener finds ground, wood, and water, but with little more power than the painter, of changing their relative position; he adds character, by the point of view in which he displays them, or by the ornaments of art with which they are embellished. To describe by words the various characters and situations of all the places in which I have been consulted would be tedi- ous, and to give views of each would alter the design of this work: I shall, therefore, dedicate this chapter to a miscellaneous assemblage of extracts from different Red Books, without aiming at connexion or arrange- ment. These may furnish examples of variety in the treatment of various subjects; while the reasons on which their treatment is founded will, I hope, be deemed so far conclusive that some general principles may be drawn from them, tending to prove that there are rules for good taste. There is no principle of the art so necessary to be studied as the effects produced on the mind by the first view of certain objects, or, rather, that general dis- position of the human mind by which it is capable of strongly receiving first impressions. We frequently decide on the character of places, as well as of persons, with no other knowledge of either than what is acquired by the first glance of their most striking features ; and it is with difficulty or with surprise that the mind is afterwards constrained to adopt a contrary opinion. Thus, if the approach to a house be over a flat plain THEORY AND PRACTICE 173 we shall pronounce the situation to be flat also, although the ground immediately near the house be varied and uneven; whilst, on the contrary, if the road winds its course over gentle hills and dales and at length ascends a steep bank to the house, we shall always consider it as standing on an eminence, although the views from the house may be perfectly flat. I have, therefore, watched with nice attention the first ideas which have occurred to me in visiting any new subject; and if a more intimate knowledge of it in- duces me afterwards to alter my opinion, I then inquire into the causes which influenced my former false judge- ment, that I may by this means increase or diminish them accordingly. One of the first objects of improvement should be to adapt the character of the grounds to that of the house; and both should bear some proportion to the extent of property by which they are surrounded. At Stoke, in Herefordshire, the house and park are as perfectly separated from each other by a turnpike road as if they were the property of different persons ; and both are seen from that road in the most unfavourable points of view. Of the house little is visible except the roof and chimneys ; and with respect to the park, which naturally abounds with the most pleasing shapes of ground, richly clothed with wood, the road passes so immediately at the foot of the declivity that the whole appears foreshortened, and all its beauties are entirely lost. To divert the course of this road, therefore, be- comes the first object of improvement. I have, on several occasions, ventured to condemn as false taste that fatal rage for destroying villages or depopulating a country, under the idea of its being 174 Tue Arr or LAanpscarE GARDENING necessary to the importance of a mansion: from the same Red Book the following extract is taken: As a number of labourers constitutes one of the requisites of grandeur, comfortable habitations for its poor dependants ought to be provided. It is no more necessary that these habitations should be seen immedi- ately near the palace than that their inhabitants should dine at the same table; but if their humble dwellings can be made a subordinate part of the general scenery, they will,so far from disgracing it, add to the dignity that wealth can derive from the exercise of benevolence. Under such impressions and with such sentiments I am peculiarly happy in being called upon to mark a spot for new cottages, instead of those which it is necessary to remove, not absolutely because they are too near the house, for that is hardly the case with those cottages in the dell, but because, the turnpike road being removed, there will be no access for the inhabitants but through a part of the park, which cannot then be private. I must advise, however, that some one or more of the houses in this dell be left, and inhabited either as a keeper’s house, a dairy, or amenagerie, that the occasional smoke from the chimneys may animate the scene. The pictur- esque and pleasing effect of smoke ascending, when relieved by a dark hanging wood in the deep recess of a beautiful glen like this, is a circumstance by no means to be neglected. As an example of a place in a mountainous country the following extract from the Red Book of Rug, in North Wales, is subjoined : At a period when the ancient family honours of a neighbouring country are rooted out with savage barbar- ity, I rejoice in an opportunity of contributing my assist- THEORY AND PRACTICE 175 ance to preserve in this, every vestige of ancient or hereditary dignity ; and I should feel it a kind of sacri- lege in taste to destroy an atom of that old, ruinous, and almost uninhabitable mansion at Rug, if it were to be replaced by one of those gaudy scarlet houses, which we see spring up, like mushrooms, in the neigh- bourhood of large manufacturing towns. I am, how- ever, restrained from indulging to its full extent my veneration for antiquity, by reflecting that modern comfort and convenience are the first objects to be con- sulted in the improvement of a modern residence; and therefore I trust I shall neither incur the censure of those who know and feel the comforts of the age we live in nor offend the genius of the place by “ call- ing from the vasty deep the angry spirits” of Owen Glendwr of Burgontumi, who formerly inhabited this domain. Ina country like that of North Wales, abounding in magnificent scenery, the views from the house should rather aim at comfort and appropriation of landscape than extensive prospect ; because the latter may be had from every field or public road on the mountains, and the attempt to make a large park or domain would be fruitless where a lawn of a thousand acres would appear but a small spot, compared with the wide expanse of country seen from the neighbouring hills. I should there- fore advise the lawn to be confined within the compass of forty or fifty acres ; yet from the variety of its surface and the diversity of objects it contains there will be more real beauty and even magnificence within this small enclosure than in other parks of many hundred acres. However partial we may be to grand and extensive prospects, they are never advisable for the situation of a house, in which convenience and comfort should doubt- 176 Tue Art or Lanpscape GARDENING less take the lead of every other consideration. The fre- quent rains and violent storms of wind to which all mountainous countries are exposed, have taught the inhabitants not only to choose warm valleys for their houses, but have also introduced a style of architecture peculiarly suited to those situations: the small towns of Llangollen and Corwen, as well as those in the mountains of Switzerland, have all low sheds or pent- houses, under which the inhabitants may take shelter from occasional driving storms. The arcade of Gothic architecture is infinitely more applicable to such situa- tions than the lofty portico of Greece, which is rather calculated for those warm regions where man wants pro- tection from the vertical beams of a burning sun. I hope, therefore, that both the character and situation of Rug will justify a design for a new house, which may possess a degree of grandeur and magnificence not incompatible with modern convenience. There is no circumstance in which bad taste is so con- spicuous as in the misuse of ornaments and decora- tions; an observation equally applicable to all the polite arts, and not less true with respect to eloquence, poetry, ‘music, and painting than to architecture and gardening. Thus, for instance, a rural scene may be delightful without any building or work of art, yet, if judiciously embellished by artificial objects in character with the scene, the landscape will be more perfect; on the contrary, if encumbered by buildings in a bad taste, or crowded by such as are too large, too small, or in any respect inapplicable, however correct they may be as works of art, the scene will be injured, and thus a thatched hovel may be deemed an ornament, where a Corinthian temple would be misplaced, or vice versa. THEORY AND PRACTICE 177 In this miscellaneous chapter may properly be in- serted some specimens of various buildings, to eluci- date the truth of an observation, which hardly seems to require enforcing; yet the frequent introduction of orna- mental buildings, copied from books, without reference to the character and situation of the scenery, is not less fatal to the good taste of the country than it would be to the life of individuals to use medical prescriptions ‘without inquiring into the nature and cause of diseases. me he facility with which a country carpenter can erect small buildings intended for ornament may perhaps account for their frequency ; but I am not ashamed to confess that I have often experienced more difficulty in determining the form and size of a hovel or a park entrance than in arranging the several apartments of a large mansion; indeed, there is no subject on which I have so seldom satisfied my own judgement as in that of an entrance to a park. The custom of placing a gate between two square boxes, or, as it is called, a “ pair of lodges,” has always appeared to me absurd, because it is an attempt to give consequence to that which in itself is mean; the habita- tion of a single labourer, or perhaps of a solitary old woman to open the gate, is split into two houses for the sake of childish symmetry. As this absurd fashion of a pair of lodges deserves to be treated with ridicule, I cannot help mentioning the witty comment of a cele- brated lady, who, because they looked like tea-caddies, wrote on two such lodges, in large letters, “‘ Green” and ‘“‘ Bohea.”” And very often the most squalid misery is found in the person thus banished from society, who inhabits a dirty room of a few feet square. It is the gate, and not the dwelling of the person who opens it, that ought to partake of the character of the house, 178 Tue Art or Lanpscarpe GARDENING where architectural display is necessary; and this prin- ciple seems to point out the true mode of marking the entrance to a place. An arched gateway at the entrance of a place is never used with so much apparent propriety as when it forms a part of a town or village; at least it should be so flanked by lofty walls as to mark the separation between the public and the park and increase the con- trast, but when seen in contact with a low park-pale, or even an iron palisade, it appears to want connexion: it looks too ostentatious for its utility, and I doubt whether it would not lessen the pleasure we derive from viewing the magnificent Grecian arches at Burlington House and at Blenheim if the side walls were lower. In recommending the use of an arch, I must guard against being misunderstood, by mentioning several circumstances which I deem objectionable. ist. The arch should not be a mere aperture in a single wall, but it should have depth in proportion to its breadth. ad. It should have some visible and marked con- nexion either with a wall or with the town to which it belongs, and not appear insulated. 3d. It should not be placed in so low a situation that we may rather see over it than through it. 4th. Its architecture should correspond with that of the house, in style, if not in order; that is, the Grecian and Gothic should be kept separate, although the design may not be copied from the house. And, Lastly. Neither the house should be visible from the entrance nor the entrance from the house, if there be sufficient distance between them to make the approach through a park and not immediately into a court- yard; the two last general rules are equally applicable THEORY AND PRACTICE 179 to every sort of entrance, as well as that through an arch, yet there are certain situations where the latter cannot be avoided. Of this, an instance occurred in Stoke Park, Herefordshire, where the gate and the cottage near it were disguised by the portico, repre- sented in the following sketch [Fig. 22], which forms a pavilion, or covered seat, adjoining to the walk in the shrubbery. In various situations various expedients have been adopted ; thus,at Antony, I recommended, near the gate, a Cottage, over which is a room, to command the fine view of the harbour, etc. At St. John’s, in the Isle of Wight, two cottages covered with flowering creepers attract the notice of all who visit the island; and while one is a comfortable residence for a family, the other consists of a room near the roadside, from whence the mind derives peculiar satisfaction in seeing the constant succession of visitors who leave their homes in search of happiness. In some places the cottage is more con- spicuous, by dividing the road to the house from the public road, as at Milton; but, in most cases, I have endeavoured to conceal the cottage, when it is quite solitary, among the trees, only shewing the gate of entrance. Concerning gates, it may not be improper to mention my opinion, with reasons for it. Ist. As anentrance near a town, I prefer close wooden gates, for the sake of privacy, except where the view is only into a wood, and not into the open lawn. ad. The gates should be of iron, or close boards, if hanging to piers of stone, or brick-work ; otherwise an open or common field-gate of wood appears mean, or as if only a temporary expedient. 180 Tue Art or Lanpscarpe GARDENING 3d. If the gates are of iron, the posts or piers ought to be conspicuous, because an iron gate hanging to an iron pier of the same colour is almost invisible; and the principal entrance to a park should be so marked that no one may mistake it. 4th. If the entrance-gate be wood, it should, for the same reason, be painted white, and its form should rather tend to shew its construction than aim at fanciful orna- ment of Chinese, or Gothic, for reasons to be explained in speaking of decorations. Fig. 22. Stoke Park, Herefordshire. It is not sufficient that a building should be in just proportions with itself; it should bear some relative pro- portion to the objects near it. The example given [ Fig. 22] is the Doric portico at Stoke Park, in Here- fordshire, where the size of the building was regulated by a large oak and a young plantation near it: had this building been more lofty, it would have overpowered the young trees by which it is surrounded, and a smaller THEORY AND PRACTICE 181 building would have appeared diminutive so near to the neighbouring large oak; I therefore judged that the best rule for the dimensions of the columns was rather less than the diameter of the oak, and this, of course, determined the whole proportion of the Doric portico. So prevalentis the taste for what is called Gothic, in the neighbourhood of great cities, that we see buildings of every description, from the villa to the pig-sty, with little Fig. 23. Gothic Cottage. pointed arches or battlements, to look like Gothic ; and a Gothic dairy is now become as common an appendage to a place as were formerly the hermitage, the grotto, or the Chinese pavilion. Why the dairy should be Gothic, when the house is not so, I cannot understand, unless it arises from that great source of bad taste, to introduce what is called a pretty thing without any reference to its character, situation, or uses. Even in old Gothic cot- tages we never see the sharp-pointed arch, but often the flat arch of Henry VIII, and perhaps there is no form more picturesque for a cottage than buildings of that 182 THe Art or LanpscapE GARDENING date, especially as their lofty perforated chimneys not only contribute to the beauty of the outline, but tend to remedy the curse of the poor man’s fireside, a smoky house [see Fig. 23]. There are few situations in which any building, whether of rude materials or highly finished architecture, can be properly introduced without some trees near it. Yet the summit of a naked brow, commanding views in every di- rection, may require a covered seat or pavilion ; for such a situation, where an architectural building is proper, a circular temple with a dome, such as the temple of the Sybils, or that of Tivoli, is best calculated ; but in rude scenery, as on a knoll or promontory in a forest, the same idea may be preserved in a thatched hovel sup- ported by rude trunks of trees; yet, as the beauty of such an object will greatly depend on the vegetation, it should be planted with ivy or vines, and other creep- ing plants should be encouraged to spread their foliage over the thatch. The principal view from the house at Blaize Cas- tle is along that rich glen of wood through which the approach has been made, as already described: in this view, the castle, although perfectly in harmony with the solemn dignity of the surrounding woods, increases rather than relieves that apparent solitude which is too sombre for the character of a villa. Some object was wanting to enliven the scenery : a temple, or a pavilion, in this situation, would have reflected light, and formed a contrast with the dark woods; but such a building would not have appeared to be inhabited; this cottage [Plate xv1] therefore derives its chief beautyfrom that which cannot easily be expressed by painting —the ideas of motion, animation, THEORY AND PRACTICE 183 and inhabitancy, contrasted with those of stillness and solitude. Its form is meant to be humble, without meanness; it is and appears the habitation of a labourer who has the care of the neighbouring woods; its sim- plicity is the effect of art, not of neglect or accident ; it seems to belong to the mansion, and to the more conspicuous tower, without affecting to imitate the character of either. The propensity for imitation, especially where no great trouble or expense is incurred, has made treillage ornaments so common that some observations con- cerning them may be expected in this work, especially as I believe I'may have contributed originally to their introduction ; but I little thought how far this flimsy ornament might be misapplied. The treillages of Versailles and Fontainebleau were of substantial carpentry, preserving architectural pro- portions, in which plants were confined and clipped to form a sort of vegetable and architectural derceau or cabinet de verdure; these being made of strong wood and painted were more costly and more durable; and as they only formed a frame for the plants, they might perish without injuring the forms of these leafy build- ings ; but the English treillage is made of such slight materials and so slightly put together that they can hardly outlive the season for which they are erected. This, however, is no objection where they are used in flower-gardens, or where they are merely to be consid- ered as garden-sticks supporting plants; but when added to architectural houses and made the supporters of a heavy roof or even a canvas awning, it looks as if the taste of the country were verging to its decline, since shade might be obtained by the same awning 184 Tue Art or LanpscareE GARDENING supported by iron, if architectural forms and projec- tions are to be despised or discarded. I should therefore suppose that no treillage ought to be introduced except in situations where creeping plants may be fastened to the framing, which should be stout in proportion to its height or its intentions: it is a com- mon mistake to suppose a thing will look light by being slender; if it be not equal to its office by its apparent substance, it will look weak, not light ; but the lattice- work is supposed to support nothing, and may there- fore be of any dimensions, and, being always painted, it will be invisible at a distance. I could wish, in speaking of architecture, if the use of language would admit of such distinction, to make a difference between the words ornament and decora- tion. The former should include every enrichment bear- ing the semblance of utility ; the latter is supposed to have no relation whatever to the uses or construction of the building; thus, for instance, a house may answer all the purposes of habitation without a column, a pilaster, an entablature, a pediment, a dome, an arcade, or a balus- trade, which I call the external ornaments of Grecian architecture. I include under the word decorations — statues, vases, basso-relievos, sculpture, etc., which have no use but as additional enrichments to the ornaments of architecture; on the contrary, where these decorations are applied to plain buildings without ornaments, they are marks of bad taste. The ornaments of architecture must be correct in design, since no degree of costliness in their materials or their workmanship can compensate for any defect in proportion, order, or disposition. The eye of good taste will be equally offended with columns too large or too THEORY AND PRACTICE 185 small,too near or too far apart; in short, with every devi- ation from the established rules of the respective orders, whether such column be composed of marble, of stone, or of plastered brick-work, the costliness of the material makes no difference in the design. But this is not the case with decorations. The cheapness and facility with which good designs may be multiplied in papier maché or putty composition have encouraged bad taste in the lavish profusion of tawdry embellishment. This consideration leads me toassert that every species ofvenrichment or decoration ought to be costly, either in its materials or in its workmanship : and if we attend to the common opinion of all, except children and savages, we shall find that no real value is attached to any deco- ration, except upon this principle; on the contrary, it becomes contemptible in proportion as it affects to seem what it is not. The idea of costliness’in ornament is increased by its rarity, or, rather, by its being used only where it is most conspicuous, and this sort of economy is observable even in the works of nature ; for instance, the most beautiful coloured feathers of birds are on the surface, while those for use, rather than for shew, are generally of a dirty brown; it may also be observed that those butterflies or moths, whose wings are ornamented on the under side, generally bear them erect, while those which have the upper side most beautiful generally spread them flat. The same remark may be extended to all the vege- table tribe; every flower and every leaf has one side more ornamented, more glossy, more vivid, or more highly finished than the other, and this is always the side presented to the eye. Hence we are taught, by the example of nature, not to lavish decorations where they cannot generally be seen. 186 Tue Art or LANDSCAPE GARDENING While treating on the subject of ornaments and deco- rations, I must not omit to mention colours, since im- proper colouring may destroy the intended effect of the most correct design and render ridiculous what would otherwise be beautiful. Both the form and the colour of a small house in Langley Park rendered it an object unworthy of its situation; yet, from peculiar circum- stances, it was not deemed advisable either to remove it or to hide it by plantations. I therefore recommended a Doric portico to cover the front ; and thus a building formerly unsightly, because out of character with. the park, became its brightest ornament, doing honour to the taste and feelings of the noble proprietor, who pre- served the house for having been a favourite retreat of his mother, and which, thus ornamented, may be considered as a temple sacred to filial piety. In the following instances there is something more than harmony of colours; there is an association from habit, which causes part of our pleasure or disgust. A compact red house displeases from the meanness of its materials, because we suppose it to be of common red bricks, although it may perhaps be of the red stone of Herefordshire. On the contrary, a large pile of red buildings is not so displeasing ; witness the houses of Cobham, Glemham, etc., and the royal palaces of St. James’s, Hampton Court, Kensington, etc.; but perhaps the weather-stains of time may have contributed more than the quantity to reconcile us to the colour of these large masses. Lime-whitened houses offend the eye, partly from the violent glare and partly from the associated meanness of a lath and plaster building, but if a little black and yellow be mixed with the lime, the resemblance to the colour of stone satisfies the eye almost as much as if it THEORY AND PRACTICE 187 were built of the most costly materials; witness Wood- ley, Babworth, Taplow, etc. To produce effect by difference of colour in build- ings, such as red and yellow bricks, black and white flints, or even edging brick-work with dressings of stone, is the poor expedient of the mere bricklayer ; the same may be observed of that paltry taste for pointing the joints of brick-work to render them more conspicuous, and, of course, more offensive. , As a general principle I should assert that no ex- ternal effect or light and shade on a building ought to be attempted, except by such projections or recesses as will naturally produce them, since every effect produced by colour is a trick or sham expedient ; and on the same principle a recess in the wall is preferable to a painted window, unless it is actually glazed. With respect to the colour of sashes and window- frames, I think they may be thus determined with pro- priety, first observing that from the inside of the room the landscape looks better through bars of a dark colour; but on the outside, in small cottages, they may be green, because it is a degree of ornament not incom- patible with the circumstances of the persons supposed to inhabit them, and even in such small houses as may be deemed cottages, the same colour may be proper. But in proportion as it approaches to a mansion, it should not derive its decoration from so insignificant an expedient as colour, and, therefore, to a gentleman’s house the outside of the sashes should be white, whether they be of mahogany, of oak, or of deal, because, externally, the glass is fastened by a substance which must be painted, and the modern sash-frames are so light that unless we see the bars the houses appear at a distance unfinished and as having no windows. In 188 Tue ArT or LanpscAPpE GARDENING palaces or houses of the highest description, the sash- frames should be gilt, as at Holkham, Wentworth, etc. The effect of gold in such situations can hardly be imagined by those who have never observed it; and even at Thoresby, where the house is of red brick, the gilding of the sashes has wonderfully improved its importance. There is a circumstance with respect to gold and gilding, of which few are aware who have not studied the subject. The colour of gold, like its material, seems to remove all difficulties and makes everything pleas- ing; this is evident on viewing a finely coloured picture on a crimson hanging, with or without a gold frame; two discordant colours may be rendered more harmo- nious by the intervention of gilding; it is never tawdry or glaring, the yellow light catches on a very small part of its surface, while the brown shadows melt into the adjoining colours, and form a quiet tint, never offensive: gold ornament may be applied to every col- our and every shade, and is equally brilliant, whether in contact with black or white. All ornaments of gold should be more plain and simple than those of silver ; not only because the costliness of the material renders the costliness of workmanship less necessary, but be- cause the carved or enriched parts reflect very little light or brilliancy, compared with those that are plain. On the contrary, in silver ornaments, if the surface be too plain, we annex the ideas of tin or pewter, and it is only by the richness or the embossing that its intrinsic value becomes apparent. These remarks are applicable to gold and silver plate, as well as to every species of ornament in which those metals can be used. Since the improvement in the manufactory of cast-iron has brought that material into more frequent use, it THEORY AND PRAcTICE 189 may not be improper to mention something concerning the colour it ought to be painted. Its natural colour, after it is exposed to wet, is that of rusty iron, and the colour of rust indicates decay ; when painted of a slate colour it resembles lead, which is an inferior metal to iron; and if white or green, it resembles wood: but if we wish it to resemble metal, and not appear of an inferior kind, a powdering of copper or gold dust on a green ground makes a bronze, and perhaps it is the bést colour for all ornamental rails of iron. In a cast- iron bridge at Whitton the effect of this bronze colour, mixed with gilding, is admirable; and for the hand- rails of staircases it is peculiarly appropriate. With respect to wooden fences or rails it is hardly necessary to say that the less they are seen the better ; and therefore a dark, or, as it is called, an invisible green, for those intended to be concealed, is the proper colour; perhaps there can hardly be produced a more striking example of the truth, “ that whatever is cheap is improper for decorations,’ than the garish ostentation of white paint, with which, for a few shillings, a whole country may be disfigured by milk-white gates, posts, and rails. Chapter XII Architecture and Gardening inseparable — Forms and Arrangements of Different Eras — Change in Customs alters Uses of Rooms T has been objected to my predecessor, Mr. Brown, that he fancied himself an architect. The many good houses built under his direction prove him to have been no mean proficient in an art, the practice of which he found, from experience, to be inseparable from landscape gardening. He had not early studied those necessary but inferior branches of architecture, better known, perhaps, to the practical carpenter than to Paliadio himself, yet, from his access to the principal palaces of this country, and his intercourse with men of genius and science, added to his natural quickness of perception and his habitual correctness of observation, he became acquainted with the higher requisites of the art relating to form, to proportion, to character, and, above all, to arrangement.*" These branches of architecture are attainable without much early practice, as we have seen exemplified in the designs of certain noblemen, who, like Lord Burling- ton, had given their attention to this study. A know- ledge of arrangement or disposition is, of all others, the most useful; and this must extend to external appendages as well as to internal accommodation. This knowledge cannot be acquired without ob- serving and comparing various houses under various circumstances ; not occasionally only, but the architect THEORY AND PRACTICE 1gI must be in the habit of living much in the country and with the persons for whom he is to build, by which alone he can know their various wants with respect to comfort as well as to appearance; otherwise he will, like an ordinary builder, be satisfied in shewing his skill by compressing the whole of his house and offices under one compact roof, without considering aspect, views, approaches, gardens, or even the shape of the ground on which the house is to be built. « It is impossible to fix or describe the situation appli- cable to a house without at the same time describing the sort of house applicable to the situation. This is so evident that it scarcely requires to be pointed out; yet I have often witnessed the absurdity of designs for a house where the builder had never seen the situation. I have, therefore, long been compelled to make archi- tecture a branch of my own profession. _ Having occasionally observed the various modes by which large houses and their appendages have been connected at various periods, it may not be uninter- esting if I attempt to describe them by reference to the annexed plans. [Plate xv1.] No. 1. The earliest form of houses, or, rather, of palaces, in the country, prior to the reign of Elizabeth, consisted of apartments built round a large square court. These were formerly either castles or abbeys, and often received all their light from the inner courts; but, when afterwards converted into habitations, windows were opened on the outside of the building. The views from a window were of little consequence at a time when glass was hardly transparent, and in many of the ancient castles the small lozenge panes were glazed with coloured glass or painted with the armorial bear- ings, which admitted light without any prospect. 192 Tue Art or Lanpscarpe GARDENING Perhaps there is no form better calculated for con- venience of habitation than a house consisting of one or more of these courts, provided the dimensions are such as to admit free circulation of air, because, in such a house, the apartments are all easily connected with each other, and may have a passage of communi- cation for servants from every part. Of this kind are the old palaces at Hampton Court and St. James’s, of Penshurst and Knowle in Kent, Warwick Castle, and various other ancient mansions. No. 2. Houses of the next form I consider as of later date, although, from the various subsequent alter- ations, it is difficult to define their original shapes: they seem to have had one side of the quadrangle opened, and thus the line of communication being cut off, this sort of house becomes less commodious in proportion to the length of its projecting sides. Of this description were Cobham Hall and Cashiobury, to both of which have been judiciously added square courts of offices, under the direction of Mr. James Wyatt. No. 3 is a form introduced in the reign of James I, with the quadrangle so small that it is often damp and dark; of this kind are Crewe, Hill Hall, Gay- hurst, and Culford ; although the latter has been mod- ernised and changed to the form, No. 7. Houses of this shape: may sometimes be greatly improved by covering the inner court entirely, and converting it into a hall of communication ; this I advised at Sarsden, a house of later date. The offices are generally attached to the side of these houses. In mansions of the fore- going three descriptions, a mixture of Grecian with Gothic is often observed, particularly in those repaired by Inigo Jones. Pirate XVII. Plans of houses of various dates THEORY AND PRACTICE 193 No. 4, the form next in succession, was of the date of William III and George I, and has been com- monly called an H, or half H. This kind of house is often rendered very inconvenient by the centre being one great hall, which breaks the connexion of apart- ments abovestairs. Itisalso further objectionable because it isa mere single house in the centre and must have offices attached on one side: of this description are Stoke Park, Langley, Glemham Hall, Dullingham, and Condover. No. 5. When the Italian or Grecian architecture became more general, a greater display of facade was introduced than the body of the house required ; the offices and appendages were, therefore, made in wings to extend the design, as at Wentworth House, Wimpole, Attingham, Dyrham Park, and numerous others. A house on this plan, if it commands only one view, may be less objectionable; but when applied to situa- tions where the windows are to look in opposite direc- tions, it becomes very inconvenient, because the offices want that uninterrupted communication which is abso- lutely necessary to the comfort of a dwelling. After the views from the windows became an object of considera- tion, it was not deemed sufficient to preserve the views to the north and to the south, but even the views to the east and to the west were attempted to be preserved, and this introduced the plan, No. 6. No. 6 has wings, not in the same line with the house, but receding from it, which, of course, destroy the symmetry proposed by wings, unless the whole be viewed from one particular point in the centre; of this form are Merley, Newton Park, Normanton, Lathom House, etc. The houses built by Paine and Leadbetter 194 Tue Art or LanpscaPE GARDENING are frequent instances of want of comfort in the two latter forms. No.7 is a form so generally adopted in modern houses that I will not mention any particular instances, especially as they are the works of living architects; yet I hope I shall be pardoned in also making some observations on their construction. This last invented form consists in a compact square house, with three fronts, and to the back are attached offices, forming a very long range of buildings, courts, walls, etc., supposed to be hid by plantation. These I have been often required to hide by planting, while, in fact, during the lives of the architect and the proprietor, the buildings can never be concealed, and in the lives of their successors the trees must be cut down to give a free circulation of air to the buildings. Notwithstanding the danger of giving offence, when I am obliged to speak of the works of living artists, I shall venture to point out some objections to the compact form, No. 7, as applied to a large mansion, which have not an equal weight when applied to a villa or a house near the city, where land is valued by the foot, and not by the acre; for however ingenious it may be in such places to compress a large house within a small compass, or to cover under the same roof a great number of rooms, yet a mansion in a park does not require such management or warrant such economy of space. Of all the forms which can be adopted, there is none so insignificant as a cube, because, however large it may be, the eye can never be struck with its length, its depth, or its height, these being all equal ; and the same quan- tity of building which is often sunk underground, raised in the air, or concealed in plantation, might have been THEORY AND PRACTICE 195 extended, to appear four timesas large, with less expense and more internal convenience. A house in the country is so different from a house in town that I never could see any good reason for disposing the living-rooms abovestairs. It may per- haps be said that the views are more perfect from the higher level, but the same degree of elevation may be obtained by building the cellars aboveground, and afterwards raising the earth above them, as I advised at’ Donnington and Blaize Castle; and surely the in- convenience of an external staircase can scarcely be compensated by any improvement of the views. To counteract this error in modern houses, I have, in some instances, raised the earth to the principal floor; and, in others, where the architecture would not allow this expedient, I have advised a gallery to be added, as at Hooton and Higham Hill. Few subjects having occurred in which I have so fully discussed the proper situation for a house and all its appendages as that of Michel Grove, I shall subjoin the following extract from that Red Book: There is no circumstance connected with my pro- fession in which I find more error of judgement than in selecting the situation for a house, yet it is a subject every one fancies easy to determine. Not only visitors and men of taste fall into this error, but the carpenter, the land-steward, or the nurseryman feels himself equally competent to pronounce on this subject. No sooner has he discovered a spot commanding an extensive prospect than he immediately pronounces that spot the true situation for a house; as if the only use of a man- sion, like that of a prospect-tower, was to look out of the windows.” 196 Tue Art or Lanpscape GARDENING After long experiencing the many inconveniences to which lofty situations are exposed ; after frequently wit- nessing the repentance and vexation of those who have hastily made choice of such situations, under the flatter- ing circumstances of a clear atmosphere and brilliant sky ; after observing how willingly they would exchange prospect for shade and shelter, and, after vainly looking forward to the effect of future groves, | am convinced that it is better to decide the situation of a house when the weather is unfavourable to distant prospects, and when the judgement may be able to give its due weight to every circumstance which ought to be considered in so material an object, that the comforts of habitation may not be sacrificed to the fascinating glare of a summer’s day. From these considerations, I do not hesitate to assert that if no house existed at Michel Grove, the sheltered situation of the present magnifi- cent and singular mansion [ Plate xvrir] is greatly to be preferred to any spot that could be found on the hill, every part of which is more or less exposed to the force of the winds from the southwest. I shall, there- fore, inquire into the character of the present house, and consider how far the old mansion may be rendered con- venient and adapted to modern comforts. There are few old mansions in England which have not been either castles or monasteries altered into houses, but there is no trace of this house ever having been either ; and, indeed, its situation in a dry valley is unlike that of any abbey, and it is so immediately commanded by the surrounding hills that it never could have been a castle or place of defence. The proposed addition of a drawing-room, an ante- room, and an eating-room of large dimensions will alter those relative proportions now so pleasing. It is not, — Py i Ti Hi ee THEORY AND PRACTICE 197 therefore, with a view of improving, but with that of doing as little injury as possible to its appearance that I venture to suggest the additions in the annexed sketch; because the terrace will tend to preserve the apparent height, which the additions to the east tend to destroy. The present style of living in the country is so different from that of former times that there are few houses of ancient date which would be habitable, with- out great alterations and additions. Such, indeed, is the constant fluctuation in the habits and customs of mankind, and so great the change in the luxuries, the comforts, and even the wants of a more refined people, that it is,in these times, impossible to live in the bar- onial castle, the secularized abbey, or even in the more modern palaces, built in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, preserving all the apartments to their original uses. The chief rooms formerly required in a house of that date were: The Hall, for the entertainment of friends and vas- sals; a large and lofty room, having the floor at one end raised above the common level, as at present in the halls of our colleges; this was to mark some distinction in the different ranks of the guests. The next large room required was a Gallery, for the reception of company in a morning, for dancing in the evening, and for the exercise of the family within doors. Very few books were then in use; and, instead of the newspapers and pamphlets of the present day, the gen- eral information was collected in conversations held in those long galleries, which had large recesses, or bays, sometimes called bowre-windows, and now bow-win- dows; into which some of the company would occa- sionally withdraw, for conversation of a more private 198 Tue Art or Lanpscape GARDENING nature, as we frequently read in the “ Mémoires de Sully,” etc. But the apartment, of all others, which was deemed indispensable in former times, and in which the mag- nificence of the proprietor was greatly displayed, was the Chapel. The other apartments were one or more small par- lours, for the use of the ladies and their female attend- ants, in which they carried on their various works of embroidery, etc., and, instead of the present dressing- room and sitting-rooms, which are added to each mod- ern bedroom, there was generally a small closet to each, with perhaps an oriel window for private morning de- votions. After thus mentioning the uses of ancient apartments, it is necessary to enumerate those additions which mod- ern life requires. 1st. The eating-room, which does not exactly correspond with the ancient hall, because it is no longer the fashion to dine in public; 2d, the library, into which the gallery may sometimes be changed with propriety; 3d, the drawing-room, or saloon; 4th, the music-room ; sth, the billiard-room; 6th, the consery- atory attached to the house; and, lastly, the boudoirs, wardrobes, hot and cold baths, etc., which are all modern appendages, unknown in Queen Elizabeth’s days. Under these circumstances, it is difficult to pre- serve the ancient style of a mansion without considerable additions. For this reason we see few specimens of Gothic buildings which have not been mixed and cor- rupted with the architecture of various dates; and whilst every casual observer may be struck with the incon- gruity of mixing the Grecian with the Gothic styles, yet the nice antiquarian alone discovers, by the contour of a moulding, or the shape of a battlement, that mix- THEORY AND PRACTICE 199 ture of the castle and abbey Gothic, which is equally incorrect with respect to their different dates and pur- poses. The view of this house will, I hope, justify my anxiety to preserve it, as far as may be consistent with modern habitation: for although it can neither be deemed a cas- tle, an abbey, or a house of any Gothic character with which we are acquainted, yet its form is singularly pic- turesque; and the plate shews the effect of removing the present road, walls, and stables, which would obstruct the*view from the new apartments. In determining the situation for a large house in the country, there are other circumstances to be considered besides the offices and appendages immediately con- tiguous. These have so often occurred that I have ‘established, in imagination, certain positions for each, which I have never found so capable of being realized as at Michel Grove. I would place the house with its principal front to- wards the south or southeast. | I would build the offices behind the house; but, as they occupy much more space, they will, of course, spread wider than the front. I would place the stables near the offices. I would place the kitchen-garden near the stables. I would put the home-farm buildings at rather a greater distance from the house; but these several ob- jects should be so connected by back roads as to be easily accessible. I would bring the park to the very front of the house. I would keep the farm, or land in tillage, whether for use or for experiment, behind the house. 200 Tue Art or LAnpscarpe GARDENING I would make the dressed pleasure-ground, to the right and left of the house, in plantations which would screen the unsightly appendages, and form the natural division between the park and the farm, with walks communicating to the garden and the farm. It will be found that these are exactly the positions of all the appendages at Michel Grove. But, in sup- port of my opinion, it may be proper to give some reasons for the choice of these general positions. 1. The aspect of a house requires the first consid- - eration, since no beauty of prospect can compensate for the cold exposure to the north, the glaring blaze of a setting sun, or the frequent boisterous winds and rains from the west and southwest; while, in a southern aspect, the sun is too high to be troublesome in sum- mer, and during the winter it is seldom an unwelcome visitant in the climate of England. 2, 3. It can hardly be necessary to enumerate the advantages of placing the offices near and stables at no great distance from the house. 4. The many interesting circumstances that lead us into a kitchen-garden, the many inconveniences which I have witnessed from the removal of old gardens to a distance, and the many instances in which I have been desired to bring them back to their original situations, have led me to conclude that a kitchen-garden cannot be too near, if it be not seen from the house. 5. So much of the comfort of a country residence ~ depends on the produce of its home-farm that even if the proprietor of the mansion should have no pleasure in the fashionable experiments in husbandry, yet a farm, with aJl its appendages, is indispensable: but when this is considered as an object of profit, the gentleman- farmer commonly mistakes his aims; and as an object THEORY AND PRACTICE 201 of ornament, I hope the good taste of the country will never confound the character of a park with that of a farm. To every dwelling there must belong certain un- sightly premises which can never be properly orna- mental, such as yards for coal, wood, linen, etc., and these are more than doubled when the farmhouse is contiguous; for this reason I am of opinion that the farming premises should be at a greater distance than the kitchen-garden or the stables, which have a more natural connexion with each other. The small pool in front of the house has been pur- posely left, not as an object of beauty in itself, but as the source of great beauty to the scenery ; for in the dry valleys of Sussex such a pond, however small, will invite the deer and cattle to frequent the lawn in front of the house, and add to the view, motion, and animation. Those who only remember the former approaches to this house, over lofty downs, with a dangerous road to descend, will hardly believe that this venerable man- sion is not situated in the bottom, but at the extremity of a valley; for in reality the house is on the side of a hill, and by the proposed line of approach it will appear that it actually stands on a considerable emi- nence, the road ascending along the whole course of the valley for more than a mile.# A house extended in length may be objectionable in many situations, but when built on the side of a hill, if the ground rises boldly behind it, the objection to it as a single house is removed. Where a house, like that at Garnons, by its situa- tion and southern aspect, will constantly be a marked feature from the surrounding country, presenting only 202 Tue Art or LAnpscAPE GARDENING one front embosomed in wood, that front should be so extended as to distinguish the site of the mansion with adequate importance. In such a situation it would be difficult to produce the same greatness of character by a regular Grecian edifice; that will be effected by the irregularity of out- line in the proposed house, offices, and stables; and in defence of this picturesque style I shall take the liberty to transcribe, in a note,** the very judicious remarks of R. L. Girardin, Viscomte d’Ermenonville. A plan of the house proposed for this situation is added [Fig. 24], to shew how conveniently the com- Fe arene tie ‘Library & Living RoomT Fig. 24. Examples of a plan for an extended front on the steep side ofa hill. forts of modern habitations may be adapted to an- cient magnificence; and I rejoice in observing that many large houses are at this time building, or alter- ing, in this irregular style, under the direction of one of our most eminent architects. I may mention those of Cashiobury and Wickham Market, which disdain the spruce affectation of symmetry so fatal to the Gothic character. When a house, as in the foregoing instance, is to be built on the side of a hill or on an inclined plane, it is hardly possible to dispose it in any other form than that of an extended front: but this supposes a certain THEORY AND PRACTICE 203 degree of property to belong to the house, or it is apt to appear too large for the annexed estate. This objection is, however, less forcible in a villa than in a mansion ; yet even a villa which covers too much of its own field or lawn partakes more of ostentation than good taste. . A field of a few acres, called Brentry Hill, near Bristol, commands a most pleasing and extensive view. In the foreground are the rich woods of King’s Weston and Blaize Castle, with the picturesque assem- Sv ee SS a ahd SR SS ae = BSE fe ie 22 Sisal nt wae Sa 8 Ah ec a Fig. 25. Villa at Brentry Hill, shewing specimens of economy with compactness adapted to its situation, character, and uses. blage of gardens and villasin Henbury and Westbury; beyond which are the Severn and Bristol] Channel, and the prospect is bounded by the mountains of South Wales. This view is towards the west, and I have generally observed that the finest prospects in England are all towards this point.** Yet this, of all aspects, is the most unpleasant for a house; it was not, therefore, advisable to give an extended front in this direction, yet it would have been unpardonable not to have taken advantage of so fine a prospect. A compact plan often demands more trouble and 204 Tue Art or LanpscarpE GARDENING contrivance than a design for a palace, in which the rooms may be so numerous that different apartments may be provided for summer and for winter use; but where compactness and economy are studied, some contrivance is necessary to avail ourselves of views and aspects, without sacrificing convenience and relative fitness to the beauty of the prospect. Fig. 26. Ground-plan of Villa at Brentry Hill. a, Breakfast-room; 4, drawing-room, opening, with folding doors, to a small library; c, eating- room; d, kitchen; ¢, kitchen court; f, drying-ground; g, part of the kitchen-garden; 4h, stable court. Under this restraint perhaps few houses have been built with more attention to the situation and circum- stances of the place than the villa at Brentry [Figs. 25 and 26]. The eating-room is to the north, with one window towards the prospect, which may be opened or shut out by Venetian blinds at pleasure. The break- fast-room is towards the south, and the drawing-room towards the prospect. Modern habits have altered the uses of a drawing- THEORY AND PRACTICE 205 room; formerly, the best room in the house was opened only a few days in each year, where the guests sat in a formal circle, but now the largest and best room in a gentleman’s house is that most frequented and inhabited: it is filled with books, musical instruments, tables of every description, and whatever can contribute to the comfort or amusement of the guests, who form themselves into groups at different parts of the room; and in winter, by the help of two fireplaces, the restraint and formality of the circle is done away. This has been often happily effected in old houses by laying two rooms together, preserving the fireplaces in their original situations, without regard to correspond- ence in size or place. But two fires not being wanted in summer, a provision is made in this villa to preserve an additional window towards the fine prospect at that season of the year; and the panel which ornaments the end of the room may be removed in winter, when the window will be less desirable than a fireplace ; thus the same room will preserve, in every season, its advant- ages of aspects and of views, while its elegance may be retained without increasing the number of rooms for different purposes. This attention to the wants of dif- ferent seasons has been too little studied in this country, whilst in France almost every large house has its gar- con tapissier, whose business it is to change the furniture of the apartments for summer and winter. Those who have compared the fitting-up of rooms in France with that of any other country of Europe must, doubtless, give the preference to French taste, as far as it relates to the union of internal magnificence and comfort; but those architects who copy both the inside and outside of Italian houses should at least provide for such oéca- sional alterations as our climate may require. 206 Tue Art or LanpscareE GARDENING Another circumstance may be mentioned, in which economy has been consulted at this small villa. More rooms are generally required on the chamber than on the ground floor; yet, except the kitchen, there is no part of a house which ought properly to be so lofty as the principal rooms ; instead, therefore, of increasing the quantity of offices, by what a witty author calls “turn- ing the kitchen out of doors for smelling of victuals,” this offence is here avoided by the external passage of communication. The operations of landscape gardening have often been classed under the general term of improvement ; but there are three distinct species. The first relates to places where the grounds are altered, and adapted to a house already existing ; the second to those where the houses, by additions, having changed their original character or aspect, renders it necessary to make alter- ations in the ground also ; the third includes those places where no house previously exists, and where the entire plan of the house, appendages, and grounds has some-. times been called a creation. Of the first kind it is needless to enumerate examples.. Among the second may be mentioned those in which the entrance of the house being changed, new rooms added, or barns, sta- bles, and kitchen-gardens removed, new arrangements have taken place, as at Abington Hall, Clayberry, Wallhall, West-Coker, Betchworth, Highlands, Brandsbury, Holwood, etc. Of those places which may be called creations, the number is necessarily small, yet I may refer to the following examples. In some, where new houses were built, I was consulted by the respective architects on the situation and append- ages; as at Bracondale, Milton House, Donnington, Buckminster, Courteen Hall, Bank Farm, Chilton THEORY AND PRACTICE 207 Lodge, Dulwich Casina, Holme Park, Streatham, The Grove, Southgate, Luscombe, etc. In others, I gave general plans for the whole, with the assistance of my son only in the architectural department, as at Brentry Hill, Cobham Bank, Organ Hall, Stapleton, Stratton Park, Scarrisbrick, Panshanger, Bayham, etc. Chapter XIII _ Formation of a new Place — A pplication of Garden- ing and Architecture — Characteristic Architecture — How far it should prevail internally HE necessity of uniting architecture and land- scape gardening is so strongly elucidated in the Red Book of Bayham that I gladly avail myself of the permission of its noble possessor to insert the following observations ; but as the ruins of Bayham Abbey are generally known to those who frequent Tunbridge Wells, it is necessary to premise that the situation proposed for a new house is very different from that of the abbey. No place concerning which I have had the honour to be consulted possesses greater variety of water, with such difference of character as seldom occurs within the limits of the same estate. The water near the abbey, now intersecting the meadow in various chan- nels, should be brought together into one river, wind- ing through the valley in a natural course: this may be so managed as to drain the land while it improves the scenery ; and I suppose the whole of this valley to be a more highly dressed lawn, fed by sheep and cattle, but without deer. Above this natural division the water will assume a bolder character ; that of a lake or a broad river, filling the entire bottom of the valley, between two wooded shores, and dashing the foot of that steep bank on which the mansion is proposed to be erected. This TojoeseYyD puv a[AJs sy BuNY[yNU InoyAM pue ‘ajt; usapour JO SiofUOS dy} BuNoasou NOYUM ‘UOTsSUBUT JUDIOUR AIDA B 0} SUONIppe a]qQeJapisuos Suryeut jo o]dwiexo UY “XIX ILV1g III 981095) jo uiax ay) ut papper aed May ynog uoysy TA Atuayy jo uSiax ay3 url jing qued plo ial THEORY AND PRACTICE 209 valley is so formed by nature that an inconsiderable dam will cause a lake or rather broad river of great apparent extent: for when I| describe water, I never estimate its effects by the number of acres it may cover, but by its form, its continuity, and the facility with which its termination is concealed. Where a place is rather to be formed than improved, that is, where no mansion already exists, the choice of situation for the house will in some measure depend on the purpose for which it is intended and the char- acter it ought to assume: thus a mansion, a villa, and a sporting-seat require very different adaptation of the same principles, if not a variation in the principles themselves. The purpose for which the house at Bay- ham is intended must decide its character: it is not to be considered as a small villa, liable to change its proprietor, as good or ill success prevails, but as the established mansion of an English nobleman’s family. Its character, therefore, should be that of greatness and of durability. The park should be a forest, the estate a domain, the house a palace. Now, since magni- ficence and compactness are as diametrically opposite to each other as extension and contraction, so neither the extended scale of the country nor the style nor the character of the place will admit of a compact house. In determining effects, it is not sufficient to consider merely the size of the building; but as all objects appear great or small only by comparison, it is also necessary to consider the size and character of those by which this mansion will be accompanied. The surrounding scenery of Bayham must influence the character of the house; we must therefore consider what style of architecture will here be most appro- priate. There has ever appeared to me something 210 THe Art or LAnpscséreE GARDENING wrong or misunderstood in the manner of adapting Grecian architecture to our large mansions in the country: our professors, having studied from models in a different climate, often forget the difference of circumstances and shew their classic taste, like those who correctly quote the words, but misapply the sense of an author. The most striking feature of Grecian architecture is a portico, and this, when it forms part of a temple or a church, may be applied with pro- priety and grandeur; but when added toa large house and intersected by two or three rows of windows, it is evidently what, in French, is called an appliqué, some- thing added, an afterthought ; and it has but too often the appearance of a Grecian temple affixed to an English cotton-mill. There is also another circumstance belonging to Grecian architecture, viz. symmetry, or an exact corre- spondence of the sides with each other. Symmetry appears to constitute a part of that love of order so natural to man; the first idea of a child, in drawing a house, is to make the windows correspond, and perhaps to add two correspondent wings. There are, however, some situations where great magnificence and convenience are the result of a building of this description; yet it can only be the case where the house is so large that one of the wings may contain a complete suite of private apartments, connected with the house by agallery or library, while the other may consist of a conservatory, etc. Every one who has observed the symmetrical ele- vations scattered round the metropolis, and the small houses with wings in the neighbourhood of manufac- turing towns, will allow that symmetry so applied is apt to degenerate into spruceness; and of the in- Qa 2° M The course of the old High road changed to § 3 Ss oe Fy & 3 =< g a be a S 5 =] S A The Mansion proposed with its Courts Offices &. B Stables Barn Wood & Carpenters yards &o. N the new High road & boundary of the Park to the South O Little Bayham Farm house to be a keepers house P The junction of two streams to form a pool Q Entrance to the Park from the pr § Ss gs 3 2-3 as | ied 3 23 = 3 2 m= ea | o & 23 cs aE ie 8 = 29 = ait So ae i=) me C Kitchen Garden Fruit Walls Gardners House & D Bridge Wier & Engine House to supply water E Boat House Cold bath Landing quay &c. | approach ‘incipal i 3 a 5 3 a E 2 E 2 3 =) 3 EI a zA PLATE XX. Map of Bayham THEORY AND PRACTICE 211 convenience of a house, separated from its offices by a long passage (however dignified by the name of col- onnade), there cannot surely be a question. There is yet another principle which applies materially to Bayham, viz. that symmetry makes an extensive build- ing look small, while irregularity will, on the contrary, make a small building appear large: a symmetrical house would, therefore, ill accord with the character of the surrounding country. Having expressed these objections against the appli- cation of Grecian architecture, before I describe any other style of house, I shall introduce some remarks on a subject which has much engaged my attention, viz. the adaptation of buildings not only to the situa- tion, character, and circumstances of the scenery, but also to the purposes for which they are intended; this I shall call characteristic architecture. ‘Although it is obvious that every building ought “to tell its own tale,” and not to look like anything else, yet this principle appears to have been lately too often violated: our hospitals resemble palaces, and our palaces may be mistaken for hospitals; our modern churches look like theatres, and our theatres appear like warehouses. In surveying the public buildings of the metropolis, we admire St. Luke’s Hospital as a madhouse, and Newgate as a prison, because they both announce their purposes by their appropriate appearance, and no stranger has occasion to inquire for what uses they are intended. From the palace to the cottage, this principle should be observed. Whether we take our models from a Gre- cian temple or from a Gothic abbey, from a castle or from a college, if the building does not look like a house and the residence of a nobleman, it will be out of char- 212 Tue Art or LAnpscAarpeE GARDENING acter at Bayham. It may perhaps be objected that we must exactly follow the models of the style or date we mean to imitate, or else we make a pasticcio or confusion of discordant parts. Shall we imitate the thing and for- get its application? No: let us rather observe how, in Warwick Castle, and in other great mansions of the same character,the proud baronial retreat “of the times of old” has been adapted to the purposes of modern habitation. Let us preserve the massive strength and durability of the castle,and discard the gloom which former tyranny and cruelty inspired ; let us preserve the light elegance of Gothic abbeys in our chapels, but not in our houses, where such large and lofty windows are inadmissible; let us, in short, never forget that we are building a house, whether we admire and imitate the bold irregular outline of an ancient castle, the elegant tracery in the windows of a Gothic church, or the har- mony of proportions and the symmetrical beauty of a Grecian temple. Of the three distinct characters, the Castle, the Abbey, and the House-Gothic, the former of these appears best calculated for Bayham [Plates xx1 and xxi]. Yet, as the object isnot to build a castle, but a house, it is surely allowable to blend with the magnificence of this character the advantages of the other two, as well as the elegance, the comfort, and the convenience of modern habitation. It may be urged that the first purpose of a castle is defence ; that of a house, habitation; but it will surely be allowed that something more is required than the mere purposes of habitation. An ordinary carpenter may build a good room ; a mechanic, rather more ingenious, may connect a suite of rooms together, and so arrange their several offices and appendages as to make a good house, that is, a house sufficient for all the purposes of THEORY AND PRACTICE gig habitation. But an architect will aim at something higher ; he will add to the internal convenience, not merely external beauty but external propriety and char- acter; he will aim not only to make a design perfect in itself but perfect in its application. Where the lawn, the woods, the water, the whole place, and the general face of the surrounding country are On so extensive a scale the only means of preserv- ing the same character is by extending the plan of the house also. How can this be effected unless we adopt the Gothic style of architecture? In Grecian or modern buildings it has been considered an essential part of the plan to conceal all the subordinate appendages of the mansion, such as the stables, the offices, the garden- walls, etc.; and why? Because they neither do nor can partake of the character of the house; and the only method by which this extension of site is usually ac- quired in a Grecian building is by adding wings to the house. Thus the same mistaken principle obtains and is considered material, for it is a part of the duty of these wings to conceal the offices. But if continuity be an essential cause of the sublime, if extension be an essential cause of magnificence, whatever destroys con- tinuity weakens the sublime, and whatever destroys extension lessens magnificence; therefore, as the offices and courtyards attached to a house are generally five times more extensive than the house itself, where magnificence is the object, why neglect the most effect- ual means of creating it? viz. continuity and extension, blended with unity of design and character; or, in other words, when it is desirable to take advantage of every part of the buildings, why conceal five parts in six of them? If the truth of this principle be allowed, I trust the 214 Tue Art or LanpscarPe GARDENING propriety of its application will be obvious; and, for its effect, I appeal to the accompanying sketch [ Plate xxi] where both the actual size of the house and its com- parative proportion to the surrounding scenery are correctly ascertained. However pleasing these representations may appear, I should consider myself as having planned a “castle in the air,” unless it should be proved that this design is not only practicable but that itactually contains no more building than is absolutely necessary for the purposes of modern habitation. By the plan, it appears to con- tain: A Gothic hall, for the sake of ancient grandeur, but leading through a passage lower than the rooms, for the sake of not depressing their comparative height. The hall and passages should be rather dimly lighted by painted glass, to impress a degree of gloom essential to grandeur, and to render the entrance into the rooms more brilliant and cheerful. This, it may be objected, is in character with those houses which Gray describes as having «< Windows that exclude the light, And passages that lead to nothing.”’ Yet I trust these passages will be found no less useful than magnificent ; they lead to the several rooms, which form a complete suite of apartments, consisting of eating- room, breakfast-room, drawing-room, and library. The rooms all open by windows to the floor on a terrace, which may be enriched with orange-trees and odourif- erous flowers, and will form one of the greatest lux- uries of modern as well as one of the most magnificent features of ancient habitation. It now remains for me to shew that I have not sug- gested a design more expensive than a house of any Shrubbery ona step bank, hanging down to the Lake Terrace Shrubbay connecting with the Witchen Garden, wo 5S o 7 wo = 0 ~S0 60 70 0g 700 —— St tt <= Prate XXII. Plan of Bayham Wood Yard Se THEORY AND PRACTICE Pai other character, containing the same number of apart- ments. The chief difficulty of building arises from the want of materials: a house of Portland stone would be very expensive; a red-brick house, as Mr. Brown used to sav, “ puts the whole valley in a fever”; a house of yellow brick is little better; and the great Lord Mans- field often declared that had the front of Kenwood been originally covered with Parian marble he should have found it less expensive than stucco. Yet one of these must be used in any building except a castle; but for this the rude stone of the country, lined with bricks, or faced with battens, will answer every purpose; be- cause the enrichments are few, except to the battle- ments and the entrance-tower, which are surely far less expensive than a Grecian portico. The attached offices, forming a part of the front, are so disposed as to lie perfectly convenient to the prin- cipal floor and to the private apartments, while the detached offices, the courtyards, and even the garden- walls, may be so constructed and arranged as to in- crease in dimensions the extent of the castle. This unity of design will be extended from the house to the water, by the boat-house, the cold-bath, and the walls, with steps leading to a bridge, near which the engine- house may form a barbican, and contribute to the mag- nificent effect of the picture as well as to the general congruity of character. When we look back a few centuries and compare the habits of former times with those of the present, we shall be apt to wonder at the presumption of any person who shall propose to build a house that may suit the next generation. Who, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, would have planned a library, a music-room, a billiard-room, or a conservatory? Yet these are now 216 THe Art or LAnpscAPpeE GARDENING deemed essential to comfort and magnificence: perhaps, in future ages, new rooms for new purposes will be deemed equally necessary. But to a house of perfect symmetry these can never be added: yet it is principaliy to these additions, during a long succession of years, that we are indebted for the magnificent irregularity and splendid intricacy observable in the neighbouring palaces of Knowle and Penshurst. Under these circum- stances that plan cannot be good which will admit of no alteration. << Malum consilium est, quod non mutari potest.’’ [It is a bad counsel which cannot be changed. | But in a house of this irregular character, every sub- sequent addition will increase the importance: and if I have endeavoured to adopt some of the cumbrous magnificence of former times, I trust that no modern conveniences or elegances will be unprovided for. It has been doubted how far a house, externally Gothic,* should internally preserve the same character ; and the most ridiculous fancies have been occasionally introduced in libraries and eating-rooms, to make them appear of the same date with the towers and battlements of a castle, without considering that such rooms are of modern invention, and, consequently, the attempt becomes an anachronism: perhaps the only rooms of a house which can, with propriety, be Gothic, are the hall, the chapel, and those long passages which lead to the several apartments; and in these the most correct detail should be observed. Chapter XIV Conclusion — Concerning Colour— Difficulty of Comparisons betwixt Art and Nature HE art of painting has been usually treated under four distinct heads, viz.: Composition ; Design, or Drawing; Expression ; and Colouring,— each of which may, in some measure, be applied to landscape gardening, as it has been treated in this work. Composition includes those observations on utility, scale, perspective, etc., contained in Chapters I and IT. Design may be considered as belonging to the remarks on water, woods, fences, lines, etc., contained in Chapters I1I, IV, V, VI, and VII. Expression includes all that relates to character, situa- tion, arrangement, and the adaptation of works of art to the scenery of nature, which have been discussed in the remaining Chapters of this work; and, lastly, Colouring, so far as it relates to certain artificial objects, has been mentioned in Chapter XI. Having since been led to consider this subject more attentively, in consequence of a conversation with Mr. Wilberforce concerning a new theory of colours and shadows, I have, through his intervention, obtained permission to enrich my work with the following curi- ous remarks: and as Mr. Wilberforce, in his letter which enclosed them, observes of their reverend and 218 Tue Art or LanpscaPpE GARDENING learned author that “ he is a man unequalled” “ for the store of knowledge he possesses, for the clearness with which he views, and the happy perspicuity with which he communicates his conceptions,” so I shall give this theory in his own words.” This curious and satisfactory theory demonstrates that the choice of colours which so often distinguishes good from bad taste in manufactures, furniture, dress, and in every circumstance where colour may be arti- ficially introduced, is not the effect of chance or fancy, but guided by certain general laws of nature. Sir Isaac Newton discovered a wonderful coincidence between sound and colours, and proves mathematically that the spaces occupied by the colours in the prismatic spectrum correspond with the parts of a musical chord when it is so divided as to sound the notes of an octave. So this resemblance may now be considered as extend- ing further, for, as in music, so likewise in colours, it will be found that harmony consists in distance and contrast, not in similitude or approximation. Two notes near each other are grating to the ear, and are called discords ; in like manner, two colours very near each other are unpleasing to the sight, and may be called discordant ; this may be proved by covering all the col- ours in the diagram (See Note 47, p.246) except the two adjoining, which, in every part of the scale, will appear discordant; while, on the contrary, if the two sides be covered in any direction so as only to shew the two op- posite colours, they will appear in perfect harmony with each other; and this experiment confirms the good taste of those who, in the choice of colours, oppose reds to greens, yellows to purples, and blues to oranges, etc. But instead of contrasting these colours, they are mixed or so blended as not to appear each distinctly, as in THEORY AND PRACTICE 219 silks or linens where the stripes are too narrow; when seen at a little distance, instead of relieving, they will destroy each other. In the application of this theory to some familiar instances, particularly in the furniture of rooms, I have observed that two colours, here deemed discordant, may be used without offending the eye, as green and blue, or green and yellow; but I have always considered such assortment intolerable, unless one were very dark and the other very light ; and thus the effect is again produced by contrast, although on a different principle: it is the contrast, not between colours, but between light and darkness. So far this theory is perfectly satisfactory with respect to works of art, but, when carried to those of nature, I confess my inability to reconcile a conviction of its truth with certain appearances which seem to contra- dict it. By the universal consent of all who have considered the harmony of colours, it is allowed that in works of art the juxtaposition of bright blues and greens is dis- cordant to the eye, and the reason of this discordance has been shewn by the foregoing remarks. Yet these are the two prevailing colours in nature; and no per- son ever objected to the want of harmony in a natural landscape, because the sky was blue and the surface of the earth covered with greens, except he viewed it with a painter’s eye, and considered the difficulty or even impossibility of exciting the same pleasurable sensa- tions by transferring these colours to his canvas; the only way in which I can solve this seeming paradox is by observing that the works of nature and those of art must ever be placed at an immeasurable distance, from the different scale of their proportions; and whether we compare the greater efforts of man with the system 220 Tue ArT or LAnpscAPpE GARDENING in which the world he inhabits forms but an inconsider- able speck, or the most exquisite miniature of mech- anism with the organs of sense and motion in an insect, we must equally feel the deficiency of comparison, the incompetency of imitation, and the imperfection of all human system. Yet, while lost in wonder and amaze- ment, the man of taste and the true philosopher will feel such agreement existing in the laws of nature as can only be the consequence of Infinite Wisdom and Design; while to the sceptic, whether in moral or in natural philosophy, the best answer will be in the words of the poet : «« All nature is but art unknown to thee ; All chance, direction which thou canst not see ; All discord, harmony not understood ; All partial evil, universal good.”’ 5 oe a ee age eo ee. ae ne 3 - ae) 4 PRU AA A , a ; hey . ) , ; Vy f 5 iS 1 . mtn / he =) , . i a "i f' mn! ' wid + ; ~ a ‘i J ( . 3 wae : a : lk ie : ' “a ; ; . : , ; r Th ' e ; + j ‘ ' | ~ 4 A i , a = ’ cy i 3 ’ =A , : 4 j ‘of Pi | ’ J >, , ei i a aa “a \ ‘ } + f » v a 4 > a7 , = » -. ‘ } iy } f be Notes * [Launcelot Brown, landscape gardener and architect, was born in 1715 at Harle-Kirk, Northumberland, England. He was originally a kitchen-gardener in the employment of Lord Cobham, at Stowe. His remarkable faculty for prejudging land- scape effects procured him the patronage of persons of rank and taste. Repton speaks of Brown as the founder of the English style of landscape gardening, but the real founder was not Brown, but William Kent (b. 1684; d. 1748). Brown, how- ever, worked with greater genius and wider success. He real- ized a large fortune, and by his amiable manners and high character supported with dignity the station of a country gen- tleman. He died in 1783. —N.] ? CATALOGUE OF RED BOOKS From whence the extracts in Sketches and Hints are made; or which are mentioned as containing further elucidations of the subjects introduced in this first volume. PLACE COUNTY A SEAT OF Antony House....... Cornwall........:....Reginald Pole Carew, Esq., M. P. Babworth).. 2 .5:2.... Nottinghamshire...... Honourable John Bridgman Simpson. Bessacre Manor...... MOVESHIRES. bie ciais.e alas B. D. W. Cook, Esq. Brandsbury.......... Middlesex... .........Honourable Lady Salusbury. Brocklesby...\.\. 5 --.<. - Lincolnshire... .......Right Honourable Lord Yarborough. Brookmans. ......... Ib ta SG Cob OoCORAODOF S. R. Gaussen, Esq. Buckminster.. .......Leicestershire.........Sir William Manners, Bart. (CPG a [os 61 Baar Middlesex... .........H. Beaufoy, Esq., M. P. Gatchfrench 235: '.)...2.. Cormwalliisne omraici> iis F. Glanville, Esq. Claybury.\-... . chimneys and very few of slanting roofs can be transferred from the canvas to the real residence of man. How void of taste must that man be who could desire a chim- ney or roof to his country-house when we are told that Poussin and Paul Veronese built whole cities without a single chimney and with only one or two slanting roofs! This idea of de- riving all our instruction from the works of great painters is so ingenious and useful that it ought not to be confined to gardening and building. In our markets, for instance, instead of that formal trim custom of displaying poultry, fish, and fruit for sale on different stalls, why should we not rather copy the picturesque jumble of Schnyders and Rubens? Our kitchens may be furnished after the designs of Teniers and Ostade, our stables after Wooverman’s, and we may learn to dance from Watteau or Zuccarelli; in short, there is no indi- vidual, from the emperor to the cobbler, who may not find a model for his imitation in the works of painters if he will but consult the whole series from Guido to Teniers. 34 If I were to enumerate all those who have occasionally mentioned gardening as a relative subject of taste, I should hardly omit the name of any author, either ancient or modern. Some of the most ingenious hints, and even some just princi- Notes 239 ples in the art, are to be found in the works of Theocritus, Homer, Virgil, Petrarch, Rousseau, Voltaire, Temple, Bacon, Addison, Home, Gilpin, Allison, etc. 35 ‘That this simile may not appear ludicrous, I should ob- serve that the ancient gardens were often made with refer- ence to military dispositions, or trees were sometimes planted in conformity to the order of certain battles ; thus, at Blenheim, the square clumps planted before Brown saw the place were in imitation of the famous battle from whence the place was named. And in an old map of a place in Suffolk, which, I be- lieye, was planned by Le Notre, the names of regiments were given to square clumps or platoons of trees, which on paper resembled the positions of an army. 3° Twelve years ago, when I first delivered these opinions, they were deemed so contrary to modern practice that I was cautious in defending them. I have since more boldly sup- ported my original opinion, and rejoice that the good sense of the country admits their propriety. 37 Elements of Criticism. 38 Like those described by Sir William Chambers, in his Chinese Gardening. 39 By this term I mean to express scenery, less rude and neglected than the forest haunts of wild animals, and less arti- ficial than the farmer’s field laid out for gain and not for appearance: or,inthe words ofa celebrated author, “ to create a scenery more pure, more harmonious, and more expressive than any that is to be found in nature itself.” 4° Lest it should be objected that I am going beyond the precise boundaries of my profession, either as a landscape gardener or as an architect, I shall observe that the professor of taste in those arts must necessarily have a competent know- ledge of every art in which taste may be exercised. I have frequently given designs for furniture to the upholsterer, for monuments to the statuary, and to the goldsmith I gave a design for one of the most sumptuous presents of gold plate which was ever executed in this country: it consisted of a basin, in the form of a broad flat vase, and pedestal, round 240 Notes which were the figures of Faith, Hope, and Charity; the for- mer spreading her hand over the water, as in the act of bene- diction, and the two latter supporting the vase, which resem- bled a baptismal font: the whole was executed in gold, and was the present of a noble duke to his son on the birth of his first child. 4" Mr. Brown’s fame as an architect seems to have been eclipsed by his celebrity as a landscape gardener, he being the only professor of the one art, while he had many jealous com- petitors in the other. But when I consider the number of excellent works in architecture designed and executed by him, it becomes an act of justice to his memory to record that, if he was superior to all in what related to his own peculiar pro- fession, he was inferior to none in what related to the comfort, convenience, taste, and propriety of design in the several man- sions and other buildings which he planned. Having occasion- ally visited and admired many of them, I was induced to make some inquiries concerning his works as an architect, and, with the permission of Mr. Holland, to whom, at his decease, he left his drawings, I insert the following list : For the Earl of Coventry. Croome, house, offices, lodges, church, ete: 1751. Earl of Donegal. Fisherwick, house, offices, and bridge. Earl of Exeter. Burleigh, addition to the house, new offices, etc. Ralph Allen, Esq., near Bath, additional building, 1765. Lord Viscount Palmerston. Broadland, considerable additions. Lord Craven. Benham, a new house. Robert Drummond, Esq. Cadlands, a new house, offices, etc. Earl of Bute. Christ Church, a bathing-place. Paul Methuen, Esq. Corsham, the picture-gallery, etc. Marquis of Stafford. Trentham Hall, considerable alterations. Earl of Newbury. House, offices, etc., 1762. Rowland Holt, Esq. Redgrave, large new house, 1765. Lord Willoughby de Broke. Compton, a new chapel. Marquis of Bute. Cardiff Castle, large additions. Earl Harcourt. Nuneham, alterations, and new offices. Lord Clive. Clermont, a large new house. Notes 241 Earl of Warwick. Warwick Castle, added to the entrance. Lord Cobham. Stowe, several of the buildings in the garden. Lord Clifford. Ugbrooke, a new house. To this list Mr. Holland added: “I cannot be indifferent to the fame and character of so great a genius, and am only afraid lest, in giving the annexed account, | should not do him justice. No man that I ever met with understood so well what was necessary for the habitation of all ranks and degrees of society; no one disposed his offices so well, set his build- ings on such good levels, designed such good rooms, or so well provided for the approach, for the drainage, and for the com- fort and conveniences of every part of a place he was con- cerned in. This he did without ever having had one single difference or dispute with any of his employers. He left them pleased, and they remained soas long as he lived ; and when he died, his friend, Lord Coventry, for whom he had done so much, raised a monument at Croome to his memory.” Such is the testimony of one of the most eminent and ex- perienced architects of the present time; and in a letter to me from the Earl of Coventry, written at Spring Hill, his lordship thus mentions Mr. Brown: “ 42 The want of comfort, inseparable from a house in an exposed situation, even in the climate of Italy, is well illus- trated by Catullus: ‘‘ Furi! villula nostra, non ad Austri Flatus opposita est, nec ad Favoni, Nec saevi Boreae, aut Apeliotae ; Verum ad millia quindecim et ducentos. O ventum horribilem ! atque pestilentem !”’ Catullus, Ode 26. My cottage, Furius, is not exposed to the blasts of the South, nor to those of the West, nor to the raging North, nor to the Southeast ; but to fifteen thousand two hundred blasts. Oh, that horrible and pestilent wind ! 43 [In 1832, the property on which Michel Grove stood was purchased by the Duke of Norfolk, and added to the domain of Arundel Castle. The house was pulled down and the materials sold. — J. C. L.] 44 C’est par une suite de cet usage de voir et d’entendre par les yeux et les oreilles de ’habitude, sans se rendre raison de rien, que s’est établie cette maniére de couper sur le méme patron la droite et la gauche d’un batiment. On appelle cela de la symétrie ; Le Notre I’a introduite dans les jardins, et Mansard dans les batiments, et ce qu’il y a de curieux, c’est que lorsqu’on démande a quoi bon? aucun expert Juré ne peut le dire ; car cette sacrée symétrie ne contribue en rien 4 la solidité nia la commodité des batiments, et loin qu’elle contribue a leur agrément, il n’ya si habile peintre qui puisse rendre sup- portable dans un tableau un batiment tout plattement symé- trique. Or, il est plus que vraisemblable que si la copie est ressemblante et mauvaise, original ne vaut guéres mieux, d’autant qu’en général tous les desseins de fabriques font plus d’effet en peinture qu’en nature. C’est donc l’effet pittoresque qu’il faut principalement chercher pour donner aux batiments le charme par lequel ils peuvent séduire et fixer les yeux. Pour y parvenir, il faut d’abord choisir le meilleur point de vue pour développer les objets ; et tacher, autant qu’il est possible, d’en présenter plu- sieurs faces. Notes . 243 C’est a donner de la saillie et du relief a toutes les formes, par l’opposition des renfoncemens et par un beau contraste d’ombre et de lumiére; c’est dans un juste rapport des propor- tions et de la convenance avec tous les objets environnans, qui doivent se présenter sous le méme coup d’ceil ; c’est a bien disposer tous les objets sur différens plans, de maniére que l’effet de la perspective semble donner du movement aux dif- férentes parties dont les unes paroissent éclairées, les autres dans l’ombre ; dont les unes paroissent venir en avant, tandis que les autres semblent fuir; enfin, c’est a la composer de belles masses dont les ornéments et Jes détails ne combattent jamais Peffet principal que doit s’attacher essentiellement Parchitecture. Les anciens l’avoient si bien senti qu’ils ne se sont jamais occupées dans leur constructions, que de la grande masse, de maniére que les plus précieux ornements sembloient se con- fondre dans l’effet général, et ne contrarioient jamais |’objet principal de l’ensemble, qui annoncoit toujours au premier coup d’ceil, par son genre et ses proportions, le caractére et Ja destination de leur édifices. [It is in consequence of this habit, of seeing and hearing with the eyes and ears of custom and prejudice, without consid- ering the reason of anything, that the practice of designing the right and left of a building to the same pattern has arisen. This is called symmetry; Le Notre introduced it in gardens and Mansard in buildings ; and what is singular is that if any one asks to what purpose is it so? no adept in the art can tell; for this detestable symmetry contributes, in no degree, either to the solidity or convenience of the buildings: and so far is it from contributing to their beauty that there is no painter, how- ever skilful he may be, who can render a building, insipidly sym- metrical, tolerable in a picture. Now, it is more than probable that if the copy, though a good likeness, be bad, the original is no better, — inasmuch as, in general, all drawings of buildings have more effect in a painting than in nature. It is picturesque effect that must principally be sought for, in order to give to buildings the charm necessary to attract and 244 Nores rivet the eye. For this purpose a point of view should be chosen which appears the best for shewing all the objects; and the building should be so contrived as to present as many sides as possible at once. It is in giving prominence and relief to the principal forms, by the opposition afforded by the others, and by a fine contrast of shade and light ; it is in an accurate adjustment of the propor- tions of the buildings to those of the surrounding objects, which will be seen in the same coup d’ai/; it is in placing the objects on different levels, so that the effect of the perspective may seem almost to give movement to the different parts, of which some will appear in strong light and others in the shade, some will be brought prominently forward and others seem as though retiring ; in short, it is in composing beautiful masses, of which the ornaments and details never interfere with the principal effect, that the great art of architecture consists. The ancients understood this so well that in their buildings the general mass only was taken into consideration, so that the most costly ornaments seemed to be absorbed in the general effect, and were never at variance with the principal object of the whole, which always announced, at first sight, by its style and proportions, the character and destination of their edifices. ] 45 This remark concerning our finest prospects being to- wards the west has been so often confirmed by repeated ob- servations that I have endeavoured to discover some natural cause for its general prevalence; and perhaps it may, in some degree, be accounted for from the general position of the strata in all rocky countries, which appear to dip towards the east and rise towards the west; in one direction, the view is along an inclined plane; in the other, it is taken from the edge of a cliff, or some bold promontory overlooking the country towards the west. 4© It has occasionally been objected to Gothic houses that the old form of windows is less comfortable than modern sliding sashes; not considering that the square top to a win- dow is as much a Gothic form as a pointed arch, and that to introduce sash-frames, as at Donnington, we have only to sup- Notes 245 pose the mullions may have been taken out without injuring the general effect of the building; while, in some rooms, the ancient form of window with large mullions may be preserved. Those who have noticed the cheerfulness and magnificence of plate-glass in the large Gothic windows of Cashiobury and Cobham will not regret the want of modern sashes in an an- cient palace. 47 THEORY OF COLOURS AND SHADOWS By tHe Rev. Dr. Mitner, F.R.S. DEAN OF CARLISLE, AND PRESIDENT OF QUEEN’S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE I. Several years ago some curious questions concerning the colours of the shadows of bodies were proposed to me by an ingenious and philosophical friend, who himself can paint very well, and is an excellent judge of colours. He first mentioned the following facts : 2. Supposing a piece of writing-paper to be weakly illumined by white light, and, at the same time, to have a strong red light thrown upon it by any contrivance, the shadow upon the paper, of a body placed in the said red light, will be green. 3. Or, vice versa, if a strong green light be thrown upon the same paper, the shadow of a body placed in the green light will be red. 4. Under similar circumstances, the shadow of a body inter- cepting orange-coloured light will be blue, purple, or almost violet, according as the orange light contains more or less red ; and vice versa. 5. And lastly, the shadow of a body which intercepts yellow light will be purple, and vice versa. 6. The phenomena just mentioned may be exhibited in sev- eral ways. The weak white light may always be had in a dark room, either by admitting a small portion of daylight or by means of a small lamp or wax taper, the light of which is sufficiently white for the purpose; and in regard to the strong coloured lights, they are also easily procured, either by using 246 _ Nores transmitted or reflected light of the particular colour wanted. As candles and lamps are always at hand and solar raysnot so, I will here briefly describe the method of shewing any one, and, consequently, all, of these beautiful experiments by candle- light. 7. L, M, N, O [in Fig. 27] is a piece of white paper, illum- ined as in the figure; Disa small cylinder of wood, as a black A small Oo taper burn- ing clear Green shadow A strong flame of a large candle or Argand’s lamp Red shadow Fig. 27. lead pencil, or even one’s finger, in such a manner as to pro- duce the respective shadows pD v and p K; Cc being a piece of red glass in this experiment. 8. If, instead of red glass, a piece of green glass be placed at c, then the shadow p v will no longer be green, but of a red- dish cast ; and so of the rest as mentioned above, at section 3. g. My friend was very desirous that I should endeavour to account for these beautiful and most extraordinary appear- ances; with this view, I first observe that the burning lights, A and B, when the experiments are made without daylight, may be reckoned nearly white, particularly if they are made to burn without smoke, though, in reality, they are yellowish, or even orange-coloured sometimes, as is very plain when they are compared with strong daylight. 10. Secondly, white light is well known to consist of sev- eral other colours, as red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, Notes 247 and violet; and, further, as violets and purples, with all their varieties, may be imitated by mixing blue and red in different proportions, and as green also may be compounded in a sim- ilar way by mixing blue and yellow, and orange by mixing red and yellow, we need not attend to more than the three primary colours, red, yellow, and blue; for, in fact, it is found that by mixing these three colours in certain proportions, a sort of white, or any colour may be formed; and there is reason to believe that if we had colours equal in brilliancy to the prismatic colours, the white so formed would be perfect. 11. This last observation shews us that white may be considered as made up even of two colours only, and we shall find it very convenient, in the explanation of the phenomena in question, to consider white as so made up, namely, of red and green, of yellow and purple, or of blue and orange. These colours are called contrasts to each other respectively: their apparent brilliancy, when they are placed contiguous to each other, is promoted in a remarkable manner, but they cannot be mixed together without mutual destruction to their natural properties, and an approach to a white or a grey colour. 12. To understand the experiment above represented on the paper, we are first to consider the nature of the shadow pv green, as it is in appearance ; that is, we are to consider what kind of light or lights can possibly come to this portion of the paper which we call the shadow pD v; and here it is plain that this space D v is illumined only by the white light" (I will call it) which comes from the small taper a, directly, and also by a small quantity of white light from B, not directly, but by reflection from the sides of the room or from other objects. The direct red light coming from B, through the red glass c, is intercepted by D; and the small quantity of this red light which can arrive at the space D v by reflection is not worth mentioning ; the green shadow D v, therefore, is illumined by ? I call it white light because it is nearly so, and because it answers all the purposes of perfectly white light in such an experiment, supposed to be made in a room without daylight. When actually compared with daylight, it is found to be yellowish, or even orange-coloured. 248 Notes a small quantity of white light, and our business is to explain why it should appear green to the eye. 13. Keep in mind that the idea of a perfect shadow excludes all light, and that the space D v is an imperfect shadow, illum- ined, as we have seen, with a small portion of white light. Let this small portion of white light be considered as made up of red light and green light, according to what has been stated above, in section 12, and the reason of the phenomenon will be readily understood. For we must now attend to the strong red light which passes through the glass c, and covers the paper everywhere, except in the space D v, where it is intercepted: the effect of this strong light coming up to the very boundaries of the shadow D v is such as to incapacitate the eye from seeing at the same time the weaker red light contained in the shadow D v, which we have proved to be really of a weak dull white colour, but which, because its red light cannot be seen, appears green to the eye. 14. This effect of rendering the organs of perception insen- sible to weaker excitations, by strongly exciting those organs, is analogous to the constitution of the human frame in many instances. Accustom the eye either to much light or to intense colours, and, for a time, it will hardly discern anything by a dull light or by feeble colours, provided the feeble colours be of the same kind with the previous strong ones. Thus, after it has been excited by an intense red, for example, it will, for a time, be insensible to weak red colours, yet it will still easily perceive a weak greenor blue, etc., as in the instance before us respecting the shadow p v, where the green part of the com- pound still affects the eye, after the red has ceased to produce any effect, owing to the previous excitation of a stronger red." t This distinction should always be kept in mind, for, unless the eye has been abso- lutely injured or weakened by excessive excitation, there is reason to believe that strong excitations of it, whether immediately preceding weaker ones, or contemporaneous with them, much improve its sensibility in regard to those weaker ones, provided only that they be of a different class. If the eye has been excited by a lively red colour, it will scarcely perceive a weak red, but it will perceive a weak green much better, on account of the previous excitation by the strong red ; and the reason may be that, in looking at a red colour, the eye wastes zone of that nervous sensibility which is necessary for its Nores 249 15. Nor is this the case only with the eye: it is the same with every other sense; precise instances of this kind in regard to the taste, the smell, the touch, etc., will occur plentifully to every one. 16. I consider this solution of the appearances of the col- ours as perfectly satisfactory. Here it is applied only to one instance, but it is equally applicable to all the rest; and it appears to me to account for all the difficulties which seem to have embarrassed Count Rumford, in his very ingenious and entertaining paper (Phil. Trans. 1794, p. 107). Also in Dr. Priestley’s History of Optics, p. 436, there is a curious chap- ter, containing the observations of philosophers on blue and green shadows; the true cause of these shadows is not, I think, there mentioned; and it may be entertaining to read that chapter with these principles in the mind. 17. When the sun has been near setting on a summer even- ing, I have often observed most beautiful blue shadows upon a white marble chimney-piece. In this case, the weak white light of the evening, which illumines the shaded part of the marble, is to be considered as compounded of two colours, orange and blue. The direct orange rays of the sun at this time render the orange part invisible, and leave the blue in perfection. 18. And in the same way is to be explained that beautiful and easy experiment mentioned by Count Rumford (p. 103, Phil. Trans. 1794,) where a burning candle in the daytime produces two shadows, and one of them of a most beautiful blue colour. The experiment is the more valuable, as it may be made at any time of the day with a burning candle. Almost darken a room, and then by means of a lighted candle and a little daylight produce two shadows of any small object, as of seeing a green colour ; and the same reasoning holds in all other cases where the colours are contrasts to each other. For such colours seem incapable of mixing with each other, in the proper sense of the word, as when red and yellow are mixed together, and pro- duce a compound evidently partaking of the obvious properties of the two ingredients. When contrasts are mixed together, as red and green, these colours seem destructive of each other, and effect a compound approaching to whiteness. Similar observations may be made on the other senses. 250 Notes a pencil, etc., one from the candle, and another from the day- light received at a small opening of one of the window-shut- ters ; the light of the candle will appear orange-coloured in the daytime, and so will that shadow of the body which belongs to or is made by the daylight; but the shadow of the body made by the candle will surprise any person, by being of a fine blue. 19. More than once I have been agreeably struck with this appearance, produced unintentionally when I have been writing by candle-light on a winter’s morning ; upon the daylight being let in, the shadow of my pen and fingers in the orange-light of the candle, were beautifully blue. 20. I suppose there is such a thing as the harmony of colours, of which painters speak so much; according to the explanation here given, our key to the solution of every case of harmony and of contrast is to consider what is the other colour, simple or compound, which, joined to a given one, simple or compound, will constitute white. Thus red requires green; yellow, purple; blue, orange; and wice versa, the mix- tures in proper proportions will be white. 21. Sir Isaac Newton (prop. 6, part 2, of book 1, Optics) has given a method for judging of the colour of the compound in any known mixture of primary colours, but it is not easy, even for mathematicians, to put his rules in practice. The gentleman who consulted me on this subject of shadows has been accustomed, for a long time, to assist his memory, when he is painting, by the use of the simple diagram [Fig. 28]. Let rR, Y, B represent the three uncompounded colours, red, yellow, blue; and let 0, G, P represent the compounds orange, green, and purple ; it is evident that, to make a deeper orange, we must add more red; and to make a bluer green, we must add more blue; and to make the purple redder, we must add more red, and vice versa: but besides this, the diagram puts us in mind that G is the contrast to R, and that, therefore, those two colours cannot be mixed without approaching to a dull whiteness or greyness ; and the same may be said of y and P and of B ando. These colours are also contrasts to each other ; Notes pa by mixture they destroy each other, and produce a whiteness, or greyness, according as they are more or less perfect; but when kept distinct, they are found to make each other look more brilliant by being brought close together: and all this is agreeable to what is said in section 11, and in the note to section 14. 22. Sir Isaac Newton observes that he had never been able to produce a perfect white by the mixture of only two primary Fig. 28. colours, and seems to doubt whether such a white can be com- pounded even of three. He tells us that one part of red lead and five parts of verdigris composed a dun colour, like that of a mouse; but there is nothing in all this which militates against the explanation here given of the cause of the coloured shadows of bodies; for even supposing that there did not exist in nature any two bodies of such colours as to form perfect whiteness by their mixture, or, to go still further, supposing that no two prismatic colours of the sun could form a com- pound perfectly white, still the facts and reasonings here stated respecting the mixtures of such colours as are called contrasts are so near the truth that they furnish a satisfactory account of the appearances of the colours of the shadows which we have been considering. The terms by which we are accus- tomed to denominate colours have not avery accurate or precise 252 Notes meaning, and particularly those terms which denote colours that are known to be mixtures of others, as green, purple, and orange. Neither the prismatic green nor the colour of any known green body may, perhaps, combine with red so as to make actually an accurate white, and yet the existence or composition of such a green may not be impossible. The philosophical reader will clearly perceive that no argument of any weight can be drawn from considerations of this sort against this theory of coloured shadows. 23. Every one knows that red colours and yellow colours mixed together, in different proportions, produce orange col- ours of various kinds: also that reds and blues produce purples and violets; and, lastly, that blues and yellows produce greens in great variety; but it is not so generally known that green, purple, and orange colours are, as it were, almost annihilated by mixture, and much improved by contiguity with red, yel- low, and blue colours respectively. The little diagram [Fig. 28] suggests all these things to the memory, and a great many more of the same kind; and, therefore, must be extremely useful to the artist who is endeav- ouring to produce certain effects by contrast, harmony, etc., but it should always be carefully remembered that it contributes nothing to the proof of any of the truths here advanced; the proof rests upon the reasons given for each of them respect- ively. Che Riverside press CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS NOV 15 190% THE ART OF Landscape Gardening Fe. | (98 of on oenn ee “A